Society's vital networks prone to 'explosive' changes


	Society's vital networks prone to 'explosive' changes

einbar

3-14-2009 3:47 AM

423 views

einbar says:

"The "million dollar question" is whether, or how, the new discovery affects real-world networks "

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<div style="margin: 12px 0px; font-family: arial; color: #333333; background: #ffffff; border: solid 4px #e5e5e5; width: 100%; clear: left;"><div class="CM_CTB_Content_Wrap" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;background-color: #ffffff;"><div style="border-bottom: solid 1px #dcdcdc; white-space: nowrap; margin-bottom: 8px; background-color: #eeeeee ;background-image: url(http://clipmarks.com/images/source-bg.gif); background-repeat: repeat-x; height: 24px; line-height: 24px; vertical-align: middle; padding-bottom: 4px; color: #666666; font-size: 10px;" ><a href="http://clipmarks.com/clip-to-blog/" title="see clips that are hot right now"><img src="http://content.clipmarks.com/blog_embed/e901211b-608a-49c0-b701-cc5328017900/07C8057A-834E-421C-AF59-A7F834093BCB/" alt="" width="19" height="19" border="0" style="vertical-align: middle; margin: 0px 4px; display: inline; border: none; float:none;" /></a>clipped from <a title="http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16752-societys-vital-networks-prone-to-explosive-changes.html" href="http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16752-societys-vital-networks-prone-to-explosive-changes.html" style="font-size: 11px;">www.newscientist.com</a></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16752-societys-vital-networks-prone-to-explosive-changes.html"><H1>
Society's vital networks prone to 'explosive' changes
</H1></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16752-societys-vital-networks-prone-to-explosive-changes.html"><div align="center"><img src="http://content8.clipmarks.com/blog_cache/www.newscientist.com/img/6B56BCB7-0BA4-49D9-8758-87C3D1C3B88C" alt="A super-connected backbone (shown in red) appears as more links are added to a network. (Image: Raissa D'Souza/UC Davis)" /></div></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16752-societys-vital-networks-prone-to-explosive-changes.html">US computer scientists have found that random networks – the mathematical description for networks we experience everyday in forms such as the internet and global flight connections – have the potential for extreme behaviour never seen before</blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16752-societys-vital-networks-prone-to-explosive-changes.html">Their findings might lead to improved understanding of how to control such networks</blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16752-societys-vital-networks-prone-to-explosive-changes.html">for example, to halt the spread of epidemics or improve the efficiency of delivery networks</blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16752-societys-vital-networks-prone-to-explosive-changes.html">The result is that for a long time the network grows, but does not become fully connected. Instead it contains a large number of unconnected chunks, each containing a few nodes. Eventually, the addition of just one link triggers an instantaneous phase change and the network becomes fully connected</blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16752-societys-vital-networks-prone-to-explosive-changes.html">We know that for some networks, like the internet, <A href="http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16394-why-the-mediterranean-is-the-achilles-heel-of-the-web.html">connectivity is a fundamental desired property</A></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16752-societys-vital-networks-prone-to-explosive-changes.html">For others, like a virus spreading through a network of humans or computers, connectivity is a liability</blockquote></div><div style="margin: 0px 6px 6px 4px;"><table style="font-size: 11px;border-spacing: 0px;padding: 0px;" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tr><td style="background:transparent;border-width:0px;padding:0px;">&nbsp;</td><td align="right" style="background:transparent;border-width:0px;padding:0px;width:107px" width="107"><a href="http://clipmarks.com/share/07C8057A-834E-421C-AF59-A7F834093BCB/blog/" title="blog or email this clip"><img src="http://content9.clipmarks.com/images/c2b-foot.png" border="0" alt="blog it" width="107" height="17" style="border-width:0px;padding:0px;margin:0px;" /></a></td></tr></table></div></div>

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