Scientist proves Braess paradox 'disappears' under high traffic demands
Tuesday, September 14, 2010 - 06:56
in Mathematics & Economics
(PhysOrg.com) -- In an urban area with a lot of traffic, adding a new road to distribute the traffic may seem like a sensible idea. But according to the Braess paradox, just the opposite occurs: a new route added in a transportation network increases the travel times of all individual travelers. Formulated in 1968 by Dietrich Braess, the paradox is not a true paradox, but rather a counter-intuitive finding regarding an everyday situation.