Dolphin Chaos
(Sfx: SONAR BEEPS) 
     THE NAVY SPENDS A LOT OF TIME IMPROVING ITS SONAR.  THEY HAVE TO, SINCE
SONAR IS PRETTY MUCHT THE ONLY EYES THEY HAVE UNDERWATER.

     Kadtke: "They're pretty darn sophisticated about this."

     BUT AFTER DECADES OF TECHNOLOGICAL IMPROVEMENTS THEY STILL CAN'T COME
CLOSE TO WHAT MOTHER NATURE TOOK THOUSANDS OF YEARS TO PERFECT--THE
DOLPHIN.

     Kadtke: "they are able to do things thare are far beyond our capabilities such as
find objects actually under the mud of the sea floor"
     JIM KADTKE IS A PHYSICIST AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA IN SAN DIEGO AND
HE'S TEAMED UP WITH THE US NAVY TO FIGURE OUT HOW THE DOLPHIN GET'S ITS UNCANNY
SENSE OF SONAR.  THE ANSWER HE'S COME UP WITH? 

     Kadtke: "Chaos" 

     (sfx: sonar goes nuts) 

     NO, NOT THAT KIND OF CHAOS.  TO SCIENTISTS, CHAOS MEANS THAT A PATTERN IS
VERY UNPREDICTABLE BUT NOT ACTUALLY RANDOM.  UP UNTIL NOW, A DOLPHIN'S SONAR
HAS SEEMED RANDOM.  TO SEARCH FOR AN OBJECT, A DOLPHIN STARTS OUT BY SENDING
OUT FIVE OR SIX CLICKS.  THESE CLICKS ARE FAR TOO HIGH FOR HUMANS TO HEAR, BUT A
COMPUTER CAN TRACK THEM AND ANALYZE THEM.

     Kadtke: "He will sit there and pulse . . . sort of doing a search through all the
different possible types of pulses until he finds one that he likes" 

     THEN THE DOLPHIN LISTENS TO THE ECHOES OF THAT CLICK A COUPLE OF TIMES TO
DETERMINE EXACTLY WHAT IT IS HE'S LOOKING AT.  KADTKE USED THE MATHEMATICS OF
CHAOS THEORY TO FIND OUT THAT THERE REALLY WAS A PATTERN TO THE WAY THAT A
DOLPHIN ZEROS IN ON THE BEST OF ALL POSSIBLE CLICKS.  KADTKE THINKS THAT PERHAPS
THE NAVY TOO CAN IMPROVE ITS SONAR BY TURNING TO UTTER CHAOS.