Revisiting the Mousetrap Experiment: Not Just About Nuclear Chain Reactions
Popular Physics
2021-10-29 v1 Adaptation and Self-Organizing Systems
Populations and Evolution
Abstract
We present quantitative measurements on a classic experiment proposed for the first time in 1947 to illustrate the phenomenon of a chain reaction in nuclear fission. The experiment involves a number of mousetraps loaded with solid balls. Once one trap is made to snap, it releases two balls that cause other traps to snap more traps and the result is a chain reaction. We report for the first time that the mousetrap experiment can be fitted by a simple dynamic model. We also discuss the significance of this experiment beyond nuclear chain reactions, as providing insight in a variety of fields involving complex, adaptive systems.
Cite
@article{arxiv.2110.15215,
title = {Revisiting the Mousetrap Experiment: Not Just About Nuclear Chain Reactions},
author = {Ugo Bardi and Ilaria Perissi},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2110.15215},
year = {2021}
}
Comments
10 pages