Spiral turbulence: from the oxidation of CO on Pt(110) to ventricular fibrillation

Abstract

We give a brief overview of systems that show spiral paterns and spatiotemporally chaotic states. We concentrate on two physical systems: (1) the oxidation of CO on Pt(110) and (2) ventricular fibrillation in hearts. Simple models for these two different systems are closely related as they are both excitable media. We present these equations and give a short summary of the phenomena they yeild.