Within this book, the author has developed a general systems theory based on classical statistical physics for fractal fluctuations which predicts the following: (i) The fractal fluctuations signify an underlying eddy continuum, the larger eddies being the integrated mean of enclosed smaller-scale fluctuations; (ii) the probability distribution of eddy amplitudes and the variance (square of eddy amplitude) spectrum of fractal fluctuations follow the universal Boltzmann inverse power law expressed as a function of the golden mean; (iii) fractal fluctuations are signatures of quantum-like chaos since the additive amplitudes of eddies when squared represent probability densities analogous to the sub-atomic dynamics of quantum systems such as the photon or electron; (iv) the model predicted distribution is very close to statistical normal distribution for moderate events within two standard deviations from the mean but exhibits a fat long tail that are associated with hazardous extreme events.
A. M. Selvam obtained a master's degree in physics from the University of Madras, India, in 1960 and a PhD in physics from the University of Pune, India in 1970. She worked at India's Meteorological Department from 1962 to 1966. She joined the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Department of Earth Sciences, Government of India in 1966 and retired in 1999 as Deputy Director of the Physical Meteorology and Aerology Division. She has carried out extensive research on chaos and nonlinear dynamics as applied to atmospheric sciences, and the DNA base sequence A, C, G, T. She is the author of four books: Chaotic Climate Dynamics (2007), Rain Formation in Warm Clouds: General Systems Theory (2015), Self-organized Criticality and Predictability in Atmospheric Flows: The Quantum World of Clouds and Rain (2017), and Chaotic DNA Dynamics (2022).
