Anatomy of Chua's System - Nonlinear Dynamic Electronics for Chaos in the Lab

This paper gives an insight into the workings of inductorless Chua's circuit in the context of education. The objective is to integrate teaching and research by promoting chaotic oscillators, circuit design, signal processing and control as a field that embraces science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). In more detail, this contribution showcases a possible structure of the basic principle for nonlinear dynamics. An analysis based on Jacobian method is used to locally characterize the dynamical behavior at the undergraduate level in form of a workshop in the lab. Emphasis is given to the electrical components and circuital conditions and their possible interpretation of Chua's circuit in order to enable chaotic dynamics. Furthermore, it shows some historical background and presents the field of wide-ranging applications to combine appropriate didactic aspects of control with integrated circuits and hardware prototyping. The idea is to propose to students a challenging topic because of its intrinsic mathematical and physical nature but in the meantime giving a real tangibility to the paradox of intriguing phenomena.