Have you ever heard the term critical density? Have you ever carefully considered its implications? Critical Density can mean many things and at times it can be something that is critically crucial. Have you ever noticed the Fire Marshall Maximum Density signs near the entrances of dance halls, stadiums or community centers? Wouldnt you say that was indeed a very critical density and an important number to know? After all if something goes terribly wrong everyone might not be able to make it out in time.

Critical Density is a term used in cosmology as well; a point at, which the Universe, which is believed to be expanding may fall back onto itself like an over expanded balloon. Would this cause the universe to implode? Would it cause a "fire cracker effect" as I call it; where the Universe slows and retracts onto itself and as more and more collisions occur the energy begins to expand again from the heat of all the planetary collisions. Which would be more like a heart beat than a big bang. This theory of mine from the question posed by Stephen Hawking;

"If we had a big bang, and I believe there was, then what was before the big bang and what went bang?

In the end Stephen Hawking decided that he can never know this and thus decided the answer to the question was irrelevant. Yet perhaps there was no big bang at all but rather a series of critical density points which continues to this day to expand and contract the universe as we know it in our realm. Many have asked the question; is our solar system slowing as it moves thru space around the center of our Galaxy and if so why? Are we getting further out from the center of the Milky Way and/or is the energy slowing. The electromagnetic energy in that case would decrease, provided we continued to move thru less dense space. Or it would pick up as we go thru areas of more dense space. Many have thoughts on the density beyond the solar system as our satellites leaving have changed speeds. Interesting indeed. So you see the term CriticalDensity is something that affects us all whether we like it or not.

When you hear the term Critical Density, what does it mean to you, what comes to mind? If you ask yourself that question, then what does it mean? Does it stand out in your mind as cosmology based? We know that we have seen this term used before. Personally I have used the term in explaining the franchise industry business model, rebuilding of Iraq, ideas on curing cancer, human behavior in civilizations, imploding Hurricane theory, mapping the of reversing a nuclear explosion by stopping time, virus footholds on bio-systems, guerilla warfare, politics, Super Plume Theory, Human Brain Development in the species, balloon design, sailing, Climate Change, etc. It is a very cool term indeed, it sounds cool, I like it too. Do you use it in your field of Archaeology? I have not heard it used in that way. But for instance the collapse of the Mayan Civilization or Aztecs, it could fit for instance; over farming the soil, issues of water, society vs. supply, virus and disease spreading, etc.

If you ever get a chance to visit the Anastasi Indian cliff dwellings, it will make you wonder if they left due to water supplies or because they used up all the available animals to eat. Critical Density could also be used to explain the rise and decline of a civilization. Also if you look at chimpanzee groups or troops, it appears that there is a critical density there. Recently human ancestry was addressed using such theories in the new best selling book; Guns, Germs and Steel; The fates of human societies by Jared Diamond.

Do you have thoughts on what types of unit valuations for various situations need to be applied to critical density numbers? How about the number of states in a country or divisions of a nation state to prevent growing animosity and civil war? I have thought the number is 26 or 27 due to my experience in franchising. The larger a group the sooner factions arise and thus additional control need to be placed in the system. These also trigger emotions of a disgruntled few, meaning less individuality for the one for the growth and prosperity of the many. How about in archeology, there is a critical density of the amount of bones in an area you need before you risk the cost of spending the time and money to dig? Number of Critical Density are all around us, everywhere we look. For instance the number of items you can stuff in your trash bag before it breaks. Next time you look as something that is more than half full, think of this article and Critical Density you might be surprised as to what you find.