A bit of disorder can create order
4 April 2006
by Richard Conan-Davies
| It is possible to create order with a bit of disorder, according to computer scientists and physicists at Washington University in St Louis. This was unusual because normally one would think that synchronised movements would further produce synchronised movements. Dr. Brandt explained his surprise "The thing that is counterintuitive is that when you introduce disorder into the system — when the [forces on the pendulums] act at random — the chaos that was present before disappears and there is order," The work may help to explain other systems like how neurons or brains cells talk to each other. Since neurons tend to oscillate their chemical signals receiving and sending their signals may be similar to pendulum motion. Their work appears in January 2006 edition of Physical Review Letters.
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