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Addressing errata 151319

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Andreas M. Antonopoulos 2015-02-23 18:39:40 -05:00
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@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ Although a block has just one parent, it can temporarily have multiple children.
The "previous block hash" field is inside the block header and thereby affects the _current_ block's hash. The child's own identity changes if the parent's identity changes. When the parent is modified in any way, the parent's hash changes. The parent's changed hash necessitates a change in the "previous block hash" pointer of the child. This in turn causes the child's hash to change, which requires a change in the pointer of the grandchild, which in turn changes the grandchild, and so on. ((("security","immutability of blockchain and")))This cascade effect ensures that once a block has many generations following it, it cannot be changed without forcing a recalculation of all subsequent blocks. Because such a recalculation would require enormous computation, the existence of a long chain of blocks makes the blockchain's deep history immutable, which is a key feature of bitcoin's security.
One way to think about the blockchain is like layers in a geological formation, or glacier core sample. The surface layers might change with the seasons, or even be blown away before they have time to settle. But once you go a few inches deep, geological layers become more and more stable. By the time you look a few hundred feet down, you are looking at a snapshot of the past that has remained undisturbed for millions of years. In the blockchain, the most recent few blocks might be revised if there is a chain recalculation due to a fork. The top six blocks are like a few inches of topsoil. But once you go more deeply into the blockchain, beyond six blocks, blocks are less and less likely to change. After 100 blocks back there is so much stability that the coinbase transaction—the transaction containing newly mined bitcoins—can be spent. A few thousand blocks back (a month) and the blockchain is settled history. It will never change.
One way to think about the blockchain is like layers in a geological formation, or glacier core sample. The surface layers might change with the seasons, or even be blown away before they have time to settle. But once you go a few inches deep, geological layers become more and more stable. By the time you look a few hundred feet down, you are looking at a snapshot of the past that has remained undisturbed for millions of years. In the blockchain, the most recent few blocks might be revised if there is a chain recalculation due to a fork. The top six blocks are like a few inches of topsoil. But once you go more deeply into the blockchain, beyond six blocks, blocks are less and less likely to change. After 100 blocks back there is so much stability that the coinbase transaction—the transaction containing newly mined bitcoins—can be spent. A few thousand blocks back (a month) and the blockchain is settled history, for all practical purposes. While the protocol always allows a chain to be undone by a longer chain and while the possibility of any block being reversed always exists, the probability of such an event decreases as time passes until it becomes infinitesimal.
=== Structure of a Block