Phase transitions in the web of science

• Numbers of scientific papers published annually are growing superlinearly.
• Searching the Web of Science with selected key words reveals discontinuous shifts.
• Shifts are first- or second-order, and resemble phase transitions.
• The transitions occurred in 1990 (1st order) and 2000 (2nd order).
• Specific historical events explain the abruptness of these shifts.

The Internet age is changing the structure of science, and affecting interdisciplinary interactions. Publication profiles connecting mathematics with molecular biology and condensed matter physics over the last 40 years exhibit common phase transitions indicative of the critical role played by specific interdisciplinary interactions. The strengths of the phase transitions quantify the importance of interdisciplinary interactions.