"Any object or concept can be represented as a form, a topological surface, and consequently any process can be regarded as a transition from one form to another. If the transition is smooth and continuous, there are well-established mathematical methods for describing it. In nature, however, the evolution of forms usually involves abrupt changes and perplexing divergences, or transformations. Because these transformations represent sudden disruptions of otherwise continuous processes, Rene Thom of the Institut des Hautes Etudes Scientifiques in France termed them elementary catastrophes."
"Acoustic sands have been described in desert legend but have received little scientific attention. Recently scientists have conducted the first quantitative analysis of the properties of an acoustic dune called Sand Mountain near Fallon, Nev. After trying several different methods, they found that the sand boomed loudest when a trench was rapidly dug in it with a flat-bladed shovel. The sound was like a short, low note on a cello; it lasted for less than two seconds"
Catastrophe theory models objects and concepts as forms or topological surfaces and treats processes as transitions between forms. Smooth, continuous transitions can be described with established mathematical methods, but natural form evolution often includes abrupt changes and perplexing divergences called elementary catastrophes. The theory finds applications in biology and social sciences, including embryology, evolution, reproduction, thought processes, and speech generation, with living organisms undergoing successive catastrophes. Some sand dunes produce audible sounds; quantitative analysis at Sand Mountain, Nevada showed that rapidly digging a trench with a flat-bladed shovel caused the sand to boom most loudly, producing a short, low cello-like note lasting under two seconds.
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