COMPOSITE SYSTEM
Charles François (2004). COMPOSITE SYSTEM, International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics, 2(1): 575.
| Collection | International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Vol. (num.) | 2(1) |
| ID | ◀ 575 ▶ |
| Object type | General information, Methodology or model |
A system composed of weakly interacting elements, all of them of the same class.
Such systems should better be named para-systems or quasi-systems because they lack a number of properties characteristic of more integrated systems, as for example:
- they have no definite function
- they have no subsystems
- they are not autopoietic, nor autonomous
- they are homogeneous
Heaps of sand, accumulations of snow in mountains, flowing fluids, stock markets, populations and possibly star clusters are examples of composite systems. Their basic property is self-organized criticality, which makes them subject to runaways and crashes.