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VOLUME 42 (1985) | ISSUE 3 | PAGE 84
Critical phenomena in inhomogeneous excitable media; modeling on a "TV-ANALOG"
The creation and shaping of nonlinear structures in 2D nonequilibrium media with inhomogeneities of various types are studied through an analog modeling with a "(television receiver)-camera-feedback" apparatus. It is shown, in particular, that the propagation of excitation fronts in media with homogeneous — on the average — distributed defects is a critical phenomenon in the parameter p, the relative density of defects. Specifically, dXp >pct any spatially bounded excitation will collapse, while atp<pCT it will expand. The velocity (v) of the excitation front increases with distance from the critical point in a power-law fashion: v~(pCI —pYThe critical index ^€(0,1) is determined by the extent to which the medium deviates from equilibrium. Another effect found is the detachment of excitation "droplets" in media with a smooth inhomogeneity.