Title: Scale-invariant bird flocks in critical state Post by: gamma on July 09, 2010, 04:22:44 PM Rome is famous for its huge flocks of starlings that swerve through the evening sky as if directed by a collective intelligence. While these spectacular displays have fascinated Romans since ancient times, they have yet to be described effectively by a mathematical model.
Now physicists in Italy have analysed 3D photographs of the Eternal City's famous flocks using techniques borrowed from statistical mechanics. They found that a change in direction of one bird can affect the behaviour of all its companions – regardless of the size of the flock. This, argue the physicists, ensures a maximal response to environmental perturbations such as attacks by predators. http://physicsworld.com/cws/article/news/43118 (tho critical, birds may not actually explode) Title: Re: Scale-invariant bird flocks in critical state Post by: bib on July 09, 2010, 05:54:49 PM The photo looks like a Lorenz attractor :) |