The phenomenon whereby a perfectly straight member may either assume a deflected position, deflect then twist out of plane, or may remain in an undeflected configuration
A term used according to the theory of bifurcation, by René Thom, which is "a set of methods used to study and classify the ways in which a system can undergo sudden large changes in behaviour as one or more of the variables that control it are changed continuously"
A point at which a system splits into two alternative behaviours, either being possible, the one actually followed often being indeterminate (unpredictable)
The separation of gains and losses on investment transactions involving foreign currencies For instance, the amount of profit attributable to the increase in the price of a German stock on the Frankfurt DAX Stock Exchange, as opposed to the amount of profit attributable to the change in the Deutsche Mark versus the dollar Important for provisions of IRS Code 988
To bifurcate means to split apart In dynamics, bifurcation often means a change in the structure of orbits For example, two new fixed points may "bifurcate" away from a given fixed point Or an attracting n-cycle may bifurcate away from a fixed point
A node in a tree that connects exactly three branches If the tree is directed (rooted), then one of the branches represents an ancestral lineage and the other two branches represent descendent lineages Synonym: dichotomy
A dividing of a structure When used to describe a signaling channel, it supports two separate interpretations The subchannels within the structure may branch in order to go to two distinct terminals simultaneously, or some subchannels may be routed differently than others in order to serve individual destinations Each optic nerve bifurcates twice in the process of terminating in the brain