Networks of springs: a practical approach

In the current work, we study the propagation of perturbations through networks of springs which are spatially distributed on a plane. We show that the topological properties of the network are related to the dissipation of energy within the system. By varying the rewiring parameter of the graph, and thus going from a regular to a random structure, we obtain a lower energy output, due to the fact that the initial (linear) perturbation is transformed into oscillations around each node. The results obtained are related to the transmission of information through a complex structure with potential applications to the design of more efficient damping systems.