Experimental Evidence of the "Faster is Slower" Effect in the Evacuation of Ants

SORIA, S; JOSENS, R; PARISI, D

SAFETY SCIENCE

ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV

Año: 2012 vol. 50 p. 1584 - 1588

0925-7535

The faster is slower effect is a  self-organized phenomena arising from the Social Force Model. Although it has been obtained in computer simulations, it has not been observed in real systems yet. To achieve this goal, we carried out experiments with ants, which are self-propelled  biological agents. The ants were placed inside a bidimensional chamber with a narrow exit, and a paper imbibed with repellent was placed in the opposite wall of the chamber. Using different concentrations of citronella -which produced different degrees of repellency- the ants were forced to egress from the chamber and the evacuation time was measured. A minimum evacuation time is observed for  intermediate  concentrations of citronella, compatible with the faster is slower effect.