This book is an introduction to the application of nonlinear dynamics to problems of stability, chaos and turbulence arising in continuous media and their connection to dynamical systems. With an emphasis on the understanding of basic concepts, it should be of interest to nearly any science-oriented undergraduate and potentially to anyone who wants to learn about recent advances in the field of applied nonlinear dynamics. Technicalities are, however, not completely avoided. They are instead explained as simply as possible using heuristic arguments and specific worked examples.