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Author: Admin | 2025-04-28
Height.When a new block is received, a node will try to slot it into the existing blockchain. The node will look at the block’s “previous block hash” field, which is the reference to the new block’s parent. Then, the node will attempt to find that parent in the existing blockchain. Most of the time, the parent will be the “tip” of the main chain, meaning this new block extends the main chain. For example, the new block 277,316 has a reference to the hash of its parent block 277,315. Most nodes that receive 277,316 will already have block 277,315 as the tip of their main chain and will therefore link the new block and extend that chain.Sometimes, as we will see in Blockchain Forks, the new block extends a chain that is not the main chain. In that case, the node will attach the new block to the secondary chain it extends and then compare the difficulty of the secondary chain to the main chain. If the secondary chain has more cumulative difficulty than the main chain, the node will reconverge on the secondary chain, meaning it will select the secondary chain as its new main chain, making the old main chain a secondary chain. If the node is a miner, it will now construct a block extending this new, longer, chain.If a valid block is received and no parent is found in the existing chains, that block is considered an “orphan.” Orphan blocks are saved in the orphan block pool where they will stay until their parent is received. Once the parent is received and linked into the existing chains, the orphan can be pulled out of the orphan pool and linked to the parent, making it part of a chain. Orphan blocks usually occur when two blocks that
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