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  • RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT

The maths of how we wait in crowded places

Experiments at a simulated railway platform show people space themselves out regardless of obstacles.
Crowd of passengers waiting on station platform.

A mathematical model of how people disperse along a crowded platform could improve station design. Credit: Getty

Experiments using a mock railway platform clarify the factors affecting the positions of waiting passengers1.

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Nature 621, 447 (2023)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-023-02828-7

References

  1. Küpper, M. & Seyfried, A. J. R. Soc. Interface 20, 20230193 (2023).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

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