Complex Media and Percolation Theory, Second Edition

Percolation theory describes the effects of the connectivity of microscopic or small-scale elements of a complex medium to its macroscopic or large-scale properties. It also describes the conditions under which there may be a continuously connected path of local elements across the medium. The point at which the path is formed is called the percolation threshold. Percolation theory also predicts that many macroscopic properties of complex media follow universal power laws near the percolation threshold that are independent of many microscopic features of such media.