The combustion experiment has several states in which cells split and merge. In the simplest cases, cells split and merging occurs as the system makes transitions between unstable ordered states. In more complex cases, the splitting and merging appears as an indication of underlying chaotic behavior. Hopping modes are characterized by abrupt changes in angular position of the cells. While hopping appears to occur at regular intervals, the sizes of the hops vary in a complex manner.
Visualizations emphasize the relative position of hopping cells during motions.
The visualizations highlight changes cell shape during rotation. Visualizations highlight the relative motion of the rings.