Hmm..they say that passion is infectious. Showing your interest in something could potentially spark others with the same passion. Ah well, here I am then, do present you with more thoughts on science, maths and life.

Ever noticed that while waiting for buses at the bus stop, you tend to wait a long long time for buses? Then, suddenly, 2, wait, 3(!) buses come one after the other. Perhaps you have never seen this phenomenon before. But I have. YH was incredulous that there was such a thing happening. But I showed him that phenonmenon in a life demonstration, and I think he was stunned after that.

We all know, that buses arent scheduled to do that. They are scheduled to move along at regular time intervals. But somehow, along the way, they seemed to have bunched up! There is an explanation for this, and I think you can find it on the Internet. But unfornately, the math explanation involved was a bit too complicated. And I have got an easier one.

Lets say buses move out from the Bus Interchange at 30 min intervals. But, you know, bus drivers arent all robots. Not every bus driver drives at a uniform 70 km/h. They are bound to speed up and slow down. Therefore, all it takes for the phenomenon to occur is 1, yes 1, bus uncle to drive slower than normal. This particular bus is going slow, and therefore the time it takes to reach the bus stops are longer. As a result, people have to wait longer for the bus to come. In this time period, more people would have accumulated at the bus stop. When the slow bus finally do arrive, a huge bunch of passengers board the bus. They take time to board. The bus becomes much heavier in mass and have to drive slower.

Now, the second bus that drives off from the interchange would catch up with the first abnormally slow bus. Being almost right behind the first bus, it would not pick up any passengers. Hence, it would be light in mass, and has a tendency to travel faster, since there are no passengers to drop off and pick up. So now, we got 2 buses that follow one after the other. Since the second bus is fast, it services all bus stops quickly. But the 3rd bus going out from the bus interchange is not going to set out earlier. It has to adhere to its timetable. So to the people waiting at the bus stop, the time gap between the 2nd bus and the third one is longer. During the lengthened time interval, lots of people gather at the bus stop..When the bus finally do come, alot of people board the bus. Thus creating another slow bus.

See now? 1 slow bus, creates many pairs. One slow, one fast. Each following each other. This is self perpetuating. Sometimes, instead of pairs of buses, you see triplets. Its much the same explanation too.

Think this phenonmenon is one of its kind? Wrong. I see the same thing occuring in superconducting materials too. The quantum phenonmenon is called Cooper pairs, where pairs of electrons team up just like the buses to travel through metal.

I hope you would spend some time next time, while waiting at the bus stop, to observe this curious phenomenon! The advice still stands: If you have been waiting for very long for a bus, and when the bus finally comes but it very full, wait for the next one. It should come shortly.

Cheerios,