Gravity detection through bifurcation.

Bifurcation is a phenomenon in which a physical system is forced to make a choice between one of the several possible states to which it can evolve. In this process the system can become extremely sensitive to very small influences--smaller than the size of the fluctuations--that favor one of the states. A general theory of this sensitivity and a simple model for gravity detection is presented. The difference between systems in thermodynamic equilibrium and those that are far from equilibrium is also discussed.