Published 2026-09-06

Canonical: https://pilobol.us/effects/physarum.html

# Physarum Polycephalum

The background animation currently running on this site is a simulated transport network inspired by the slime mold *Physarum polycephalum*.

The algorithm simulates thousands of independent agent particles that deposit a chemical trail and steer towards the highest concentration of that trail, creating self-organizing organic networks.

## Credits

This implementation is inspired by the seminal research paper **Characteristics of pattern formation and evolution in approximations of physarum transport networks** by **Jeff Jones** (2010), and the beautiful WebGL adaptations popularized by digital artists like **Sage Jenson**.

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