Open System (systems Theory)
An open system is a system which continuously interacts with its environment. The interaction can take the form of information, energy, or material transfers into or out of the system boundary, depending on the discipline which defines the concept (see below). An open system should be contrasted with the concept of an isolated system which exchanges neither energy, matter,nor information with its environment.
The concept of an "open system" was formalized within a framework that enabled one to interrelate the theory of the organism, thermodynamics, and evolutionary theory. This concept was expanded upon with the advent of information theory and subsequently systems theory. Today the concept has its applications in the natural and social sciences.
| Thermodynamics |
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| The classical Carnot heat engine |
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Branches
Classical · Statistical · Chemical Equilibrium / Non-equilibrium |
| Laws Zeroth · First · Second · Third |
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Systems
State: Equation of state Ideal gas · Real gas Phase of matter · Equilibrium Control volume · Instruments Read more about Open System (systems Theory): In The Social Sciences Famous quotes containing the words open and/or system:“Thoroughly to unfold the labyrinths of the human mind is an arduous task.... In order to dive into those recesses and lay them open to the reader in a striking and intelligible manner, ‘tis necessary to assume a certain freedom in writing, not strictly perhaps within the limits prescribed by rules.” “Books are for the most part willfully and hastily written, as parts of a system to supply a want real or imagined.” |