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Self-organizing processes

The sound of many hands clapping

Nature volume 403, pages 849–850 (2000)Cite this article

Tumultuous applause can transform itself into waves of synchronized clapping.

Abstract

An audience expresses appreciation for a good performance by the strength and nature of its applause. The thunder of applause at the start often turns quite suddenly into synchronized clapping, and this synchronization can disappear and reappear several times during the applause. The phenomenon is a delightful expression of social self-organization that provides an example on a human scale of the synchronization processes that occur in numerous natural systems, ranging from flashing Asian fireflies to oscillating chemical reactions1,2,3. Here we explain the dynamics of this rhythmic applause.

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Figure 1: Emergence of synchronization in clapping.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Theoretical Physics, Babes-Bolyai University, Str. Kogălniceanu 1, Cluj-Napoca, RO-3400, Romania

    Z. Néda & E. Ravasz

  2. ENSEEG-LTPCM, INP-Grenoble, Saint-Martin D'Heres, Cedex, France

    Y. Brechet

  3. Department of Biological Physics Eötvös-Loránd University, Budapest, 1117, Hungary

    T. Vicsek

  4. Department of Physics, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, 46556, Indiana, USA

    A.-L. Barabási

Authors
  1. Z. Néda
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  2. E. Ravasz
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  3. Y. Brechet
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  4. T. Vicsek
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  5. A.-L. Barabási
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Z. Néda.

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Néda, Z., Ravasz, E., Brechet, Y. et al. The sound of many hands clapping. Nature 403, 849–850 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1038/35002660

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