Braess’ Paradox Confirmed in Electrical Circuits
https://www.umass.edu/newsoffice/article/nagurneys-publish-article-confirming
Researchers Anna and Ladimer Nagurney have recently proven the possibility of Braess’ Paradox occurring in electrical circuits. While the possibility of Braess’ Paradox in electrical circuits had been predicted many years ago, the research paper written by the Nagurney’s indicate that they were able to show Braess’ Paradox in two different circuits. This was done by comparing electrons to individuals traversing a transportation network. While individuals have a cost of travel time, the of cost of electrons travelling through a circuit was measured by the decrease in voltage from the input to output.
Braess’ Paradox was originally formulated with physical transportation networks in mind. Specifically, the theory states that the addition of an edge to a transportation network worsens travel time while the removal of an edge could decrease travel time. However, while Braess’ Paradox can and has been proven to occur in real transportation networks, it has so far been difficult to perform vigorous testing of the paradox. By proving that Braess’ Paradox can occur in electrical circuits, it is possible to construct networks with specific parameters to gain further insight on how Braess’ Paradox situations arise in real life.