Constructal Law
Formal Statement
"For a finite-size flow system to persist in time, it must evolve toward providing easier access to the currents that flow through it"
Mathematical Form
Flow architectures evolve to minimize total resistance for a given flow volume Description
Flow systems - rivers, lungs, circulatory systems, traffic networks - evolve toward configurations that facilitate flow. This explains why similar branching patterns appear across vastly different systems.
Biological Implication
The branching patterns of blood vessels, airways, and trees all optimize for flow. River networks carve dendritic patterns that minimize resistance to water flow. These aren't designed - they emerge from the physics of flow optimization.
Business Implication
Organizations are flow systems - information, decisions, resources, and value flow through them. Organizational structures that persist tend to evolve toward configurations that facilitate these flows. Bottlenecks, inefficient routing, and flow impediments create pressure for restructuring. Understanding the 'currents' that flow through your organization reveals where structure should evolve.