THE PHYSICS OF ... TRAFFIC

This article discusses the world of traffic physics, which uses computer models and traffic sensors to collect and interpret traffic flow information. Theoretical physicists such as Bernardo Huberman, Xerox Palo Alto Research Center and Dirk Helbing of the University of Stuttgart in Germany, are studying traffic congestions and flow to come up with ways to decrease highway traffic. Helbing, in particular, has found that at certain traffic densities, small causes have large effects. Most types of congestion are caused by small disturbances that grow and at some point cause the traffic to break down.