Inwardly Rotating Spiral Waves in a Reaction-Diffusion System

• Published in: Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) Vol. 294; no. 5543; pp. 835 - 837
• Main Authors: Vanag, Vladimir K., Epstein, Irving R.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC American Society for the Advancement of Science 26-10-2001; American Association for the Advancement of Science; The American Association for the Advancement of Science
• Subjects: Catalysis; Catalytic reactions; Cellular biology; Chemical reactions; Chemistry; Circles; Colloidal state and disperse state; Computer Simulation; Curvature; Diffusion coefficient; Emulsions. Microemulsions. Foams; Exact sciences and technology; General and physical chemistry; Kinetics; Molecules; Octanes; Population Distribution; Reaction-diffusion systems; Spirals; Theory of reactions, general kinetics. Catalysis. Nomenclature, chemical documentation, computer chemistry; Water; Wave propagation; Wave velocity; Wavelengths; Waves; Water; Octane; Patterning; Hydrocarbon; Computer simulation; Reaction; Spiral; Anionic surfactant; Water oil microemulsion; Alkane; Aerosol OT; Diffusion; Oscillating reaction
• ISSN: 0036-8075; 1095-9203
• DOI: 10.1126/science.1064167

Almost 30 years have passed since the discovery of concentric (target) and spiral waves in the spatially extended Belousov-Zhabotinsky (BZ) reaction. Since then, rotating spirals and target waves have been observed in a variety of physical, chemical, and biological reaction-diffusion systems. All of these waves propagate out from the spiral center or pacemaker. We report observations of inwardly rotating spirals found in the BZ system dispersed in water droplets of a water-in-oil microemulsion. These "antispirals" were also generated in computer simulations.