Study 14 · Strange Attractors
Chua System
A metallic digital sculpture inspired by Chua’s circuit, an electronic circuit known for producing strange attractors.
The mathematical reference
Chua’s circuit is an electronic circuit capable of chaotic behaviour and the production of strange attractors. The University of California, Berkeley’s nonlinear electronics group describes its origins and points to the early technical literature. This artwork uses the circuit as a named mathematical and scientific reference; it is not a circuit diagram, oscilloscope trace or laboratory measurement.
Further reading: University of California, Berkeley, “Chaos in Chua’s Circuit”.
Chua System equations
The piecewise-linear function f represents the nonlinear element in the normalized circuit model. Its slope changes redirect the trajectory.
Here, t is time and the variables are coordinates in the system’s state space. Letters such as a, b and c denote fixed coefficients. These are reference equations for the named model or family, not a recovered record of the parameters, initial conditions or integration settings used in this particular image. Chaotic behaviour depends on those choices.
Formula reference: View the documented system and source.
From a trajectory to Chua System art
Riccardo develops the rail in Grasshopper for Rhinoceros using Chimpanzee. The system evolves over time, producing successive three-dimensional points. Connecting those samples creates a path. A cross-section is then swept along that rail, giving the line thickness and a surface. This is how a time-dependent mathematical trajectory becomes visible as sculptural geometry.
The sweep adds a visual layer to the mathematics: its width and orientation affect how the form catches light. Riccardo then uses 3ds Max to develop the material, camera and illumination. The finished work is a digital render of this geometry, rather than a photograph of a fabricated object. No generative AI is used to create the artwork.
To read the image, follow a single edge as it moves through light and shadow. Notice where the projected path overlaps, opens or disappears behind another surface. The rail comes from a rule evolving through time; the artist’s composition lets us experience that motion as a still image. The aim is to reveal the hidden beauty of chaos theory.
A study in form
The work brings a concept usually met through equations, circuit schematics and phase portraits into the language of sculpture. Its digitally rendered metallic surface suggests material weight, while the quiet background keeps attention on the form. The shift in medium asks how mathematical structure might be encountered through looking, without claiming that the sculpture functions as a scientific explanation.
Created by Riccardo Zerbinati through parametric modelling in Rhinoceros and rendered in 3ds Max, this work is one of 40 vertical artworks in the Strange Attractors collection. The practice is human-led and uses no generative AI.
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