Murmuration of birds is an amazing sight - a swooping mass of thousands of birds whirling in the sky above your head.
Starling flocks, it turns out, are best described with equations of “critical transitions” — systems that are poised to tip, to be almost instantly and completely transformed, like metals becoming magnetized or liquid turning to gas. Each starling in a flock is connected to every other. When a flock turns in unison, it’s a phase transition.
Starlings may simply be the most visible and beautiful example of a biological criticality that also seems to operate in proteins and neurons, hinting at universal principles yet to be understood.
Article:http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/animals/stories/the-incredible-science-behind-starling-murmurations
Video source:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsM8rWeQiG8
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