electrical, civil and mechanical engineering, and other fields. It continues the outline of basic con­ cepts and methods presented in my book Synergetics. An Introduction, which has by now appeared in English, Russian, J apanese, Chinese, and German. I have written the present book in such a way that most of it can be read in­ dependently of my previous book, though occasionally some knowledge of that book might be useful. But why do these books address such a wide audience? Why are instabilities such a common feature, and what do devices and self-organizing systems have in common? Self-organizing systems acquire their structures or functions without specific interference from outside. The differentiation of cells in biology, and the process of evolution are both examples of self-organization. Devices such as the electronic oscillators used in radio transmitters, on the other hand, are man­ made. But we often forget that in many cases devices function by means of pro­ cesses which are also based on self-organization. In an electronic oscillator the motion of electrons becomes coherent without any coherent driving force from the outside; the device is constructed in such a way as to permit specific collective motions of the electrons. Quite evidently the dividing line between self-organiz­ ing systems and man-made devices is not at all rigid.

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