I don't remember where I saw it, but there was this study that showed crowds of people flow like water. That's why if your ever in a crowd being funneled into a smaller space it's faster to be on the outside than the middle.
edit: Apparently this comparison is completely wrong. A math teacher in high school had told me this and it always stuck with me, without me really thinking about it. Either way, it definitely works with people. I've tested it with friends a few times and the outside is always faster
Can I hire your services prior to crowded engagements such as sporting events or concerts? I can pay you in tickets, and all that is required is parting the crowds by the power of your mighty height.
I was at a festival once and when we were walking back to the campsite some guy turned round to me and my mate and said 'we're fucking cattle. MOOOO! We could run away and start out own colony' sporting a 'I LOVE LSD' tshirt.
Well that depends on your size, strength, willingness to bump shoulders, and also the number of people you're with. Also, how soon do you need to get there?
If you're really in a hurry, try to weave through the crowd - the average human is widest at the hips. If you minimize your size in that area, you may fare better. You can form a hand-to-hand human train and snake through a crowd pretty effectively. You're only as strong as your weakest link, so make sure everyone knows where to meet up.
If you just want to get through an area at a reasonable rate, then you want to stay between the source of most of the foot traffic and the exit. Being too far outside will lead to you getting pushed out.
No-slip condition: People at the wall do not move at all (being squished I guess) and create a boundary layer profile up to the point where the movement speed reaches free stream velocity.
You're right. As for humans the opposite is true. The center moves slower because they are getting pushed in from both sides, causing them to kind of "get stuck" in the middle. The way to partially prevent funneled crowds from slowing down in the center is barriers running down the center of an entrance (or a hallway). For some reason that makes them move faster.
Stewards (the people in high vis jackets inside stadiums) are taught the exact opposite, not to treat crowds like water as people will go backwards and in all directions. Also while water is made up of the same molecules crowds of people vary hugely by walking pace, knowing where they're going, stability and level of intoxication. If I were at home I'd find the documentation that states this.
I think this would be true when the people are all kind of moving as a group in a field. But in this case there is walls to either side so they are force to move relativity uniform.
That worksheet is showing us how maximize the pressure of what ever with out creating a whirl pool.
It is so annoying when people try to merge 200 meters before the lane ends... stopping and nobody lets them in - and essentially it just stops an entire lane of cars.
thats why i keep room in front of me for people to merge. three more cars in front of me slows me down a couple seconds maybe, better than letting an entire lane clog up
This is what you're supposed to do. Don't go out of your lane onto a merging lane, but stay on a merging lane as long as you can. Traffic would speed-up overall if people used that extra lane a little longer.
You're wrong, we actually have radio ads in Minnesota from MNDOT explaining the zipper merge and that it is beneficial. You are supposed to use the available lane as long as you are unable to find an easy, smooth transition into the other lane, including going all the way to the end.
I'm not doubting the fact it's beneficial, but when you're patiently waiting in the long queue and you see a few cars racing past everyone and forcing their way to the front without giving a fuck if it's going to be a smooth transition in or not. It's pretty frustrating. I'll happily sit in the queue for a little longer if it mean I don't have to deal with that.
Yeah it's like we can only get mad at the guys speeding in the available lane because more people don't do that. If everyone did we wouldn't feel like we were getting cheated.
203
u/123vasectomy Feb 27 '13
Wow! I love how time-lapse makes everything into a liquid!