Sheep, soldiers, and grains: Studying the physics of crowds
toggle caption Ari Daniel/For NPR
A mighty cheer erupts from El Sadar — Pamplona's massive soccer stadium. Ossasuna, the local team, is winning.
Iker Zuriguel estimates there are some 20,000 to 25,000 people inside the stadium clapping, stomping, and yelling. He's hovering just outside the match — but he's not here for the game.
"We came here because there is a crowd," says Zuriguel, an applied physicist at the nearby University of Navarra. He studies the movement of such crowds to optimize their flow and comfort — and improve public safety.
"A lot of people trying to move too fast in a huge crowd can be dangerous," he says — whether it's happening at a concert, pilgrimage, or sporting event like this one. It can lead to injury, trampling, and, in the worst scenarios, fatalities .
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Within seconds of the game ending, a river of fans in red shirts spills out of the doors of the stadium and onto the street.
Zuriguel chooses a spot on the corner where the crowd is denser. He wades through the throng, pointing out people walking directly behind individuals whom they don't know, but who are moving in the same direction they want to move in.
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