Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 5, 2026

Large Scale Energy Efficient Sensor Network Routing Using a Quantum Processor Unit
Published on: September 8, 2023
Universal behavior of cascading failures in interdependent networks
Dongli Duan1,2, Changchun Lv1, Shubin Si3
1School of Mechanical Engineering, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an 710072, China.
Abstract:
Catastrophic and major disasters in real-world systems, such as blackouts in power grids or global failures in critical infrastructures, are often triggered by minor events which originate a cascading failure in interdependent graphs. We present here a self-consistent theory enabling the systematic analysis of cascading failures in such networks and encompassing a broad range of dynamical systems, from epidemic spreading, to birth-death processes, to biochemical and regulatory dynamics. We offer testable predictions on breakdown scenarios, and, in particular, we unveil the conditions under which the percolation transition is of the first-order or the second-order type, as well as prove that accounting for dynamics in the nodes always accelerates the cascading process. Besides applying directly to relevant real-world situations, our results give practical hints on how to engineer more robust networked systems.
More Related Videos
06:04Experimental Investigation of the Hierarchical Control in DC Microgrids Using a Real-time Simulator
Published on: February 14, 2025
09:26In Situ Time-dependent Dielectric Breakdown in the Transmission Electron Microscope: A Possibility to Understand the Failure Mechanism in Microelectronic Devices
Published on: June 26, 2015
Related Concept Videos
Cascaded Op Amps
In a cascaded system, each op-amp is referred to as a stage. The output of one stage drives the input of the subsequent stage. As the input signal passes through...
Multimachine Stability
In analyzing the system, the nodal equations represent the relationship between bus voltages, machine voltages, and machine currents. The nodal equation is given by:
Network Function of a Circuit
Bus Impedance Matrix
In the first circuit, all machine voltage sources are short-circuited, leaving only the prefault voltage source at the fault location. The positive-sequence bus impedance matrix can be determined by solving the nodal equations,...
Circuit Terminology
A circuit, on the other hand, is also an interconnected system of electrical elements but must contain one or more closed paths.
Propagation of Uncertainty from Random Error