The CUSP: from finite time singularities to breaking waves
Submitted by Patrice Le Gal on Friday, 07/21/2017 3:02pm
Focusing light at the bottom of a tea cup is an every day experience, but a precise observation of the light pattern shows a very simple but singular bright curve with a clearly recognizable pattern. The lines where the light rays focus are called caustics that merge in a CUSP. The mathematical description of these types of singular curves can be found in the classification of "Catastrophes" by Mathematician René Thom.