The Ford-Fulkerson method is an algorithm used to find the maximum flow in a flow network. It works by repeatedly searching for paths from the source to the sink that can accommodate more flow, adjusting the flow along these paths until no more augmenting paths can be found. This method is fundamental in network flow theory and has applications in various fields, including transportation and telecommunications. The algorithm relies on the concept of augmenting paths and uses techniques like BFS (Breadth-First Search) or DFS (Depth-First Search) to identify these paths. The Edmonds-Karp algorithm is a specific implementation of Ford-Fulkerson that uses BFS to ensure polynomial time complexity. Overall, the Ford-Fulkerson method is essential for solving problems related to network optimization.