Animating Networks

Networks are interesting enough in a fixed state, but when they change, they really start feeling like creatures in their own right. One important question is if they in fact do exhibit emergent behaviors that lead to network changes independently of what the nodes and edges in the network do. One simple example would be a network shutting down or throttling in anticipation of an overload. What if the network could sense it’s heat on its own and initiate cooling behaviors?

This network simulation is far from that, but it shows how a network motion can be simulated as a web of springs.

The basic idea is that every edge acts as a spring, pulling on the nodes it is connected to.

The processing code is available here: RadialBell18. There is also a sonified version, which will be posted soon.