The four images show the delayed breakdown of a 'cluster' of steel beads [in the middle box in (a)] undergoing vertical shaking at a constant amplitude. After a relatively long period of stability, the cluster suddenly collapses at t = 42 s and diffuses rapidly over the other boxes. The cluster lifetime depends only on the number of boxes and one shaking parameter and can be calculated from a simple flux model.
From the article:
Sudden Collapse of a Granular ClusterDevaraj van der Meer, Ko van der Weele, and Detlef Lohse
Phys. Rev. Lett. 88, 174302 (2002)
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