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Old 06-02-2004, 09:36 AM   #33
russotto
Professor
 
Join Date: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,788
Quote:
Originally posted by Carbonated_Brains

They are no more traceable than the butterfly scenario. The variables in a 3 body problem could be as numerous as the atoms in each celestial body.
Nyet. There are eighteen variables in the three body problem (position and velocity, in three dimensions, of the three bodies, with respect to the center of mass of the three). There are also three constants (mass of the three bodies). If you start worrying about the atoms in the bodies, it's not a three-body problem anymore.
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