Scientists found a way to explain bird flocks that “defy” Newton’s third law
Physicists have developed a model to explain how bird flocks and other collective systems move without adhering to Newton's third law. This discovery helps simulate non-reciprocal interactions in biological and social systems.
Why it matters
Understanding non-reciprocal systems is crucial for advancing simulations in biology, physics, and crowd dynamics.
Birds can see a large portion of the world around them, but when they fly in flocks, they pay attention only to birds beside them or ahead of them. They do not align their movements with birds behind them. That behavior appears to conflict with Newton's third law, the famous action and reaction principle often summarized as "for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction."
The article is a scientific report on theoretical physics research.
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