Laws of Nature
In Our Time: Philosophy
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Exploring the Dynamics of Sand Piles
The chapter delves into the unpredictable and unstable nature of sand piles, discussing how dropping grains onto the pile leads to a critical state characterized by avalanches of varying sizes. It explores the concept of power laws and critical states in various situations like stock market crashes, forest fires, and world wars. The discussion also touches upon the patterns of events following power laws and critical state universality in different substances.
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