ENERGY BUDGET
| Collection | International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Vol. (num.) | 2(1) |
| ID | ◀ 1085 ▶ |
| Object type | General information, Human sciences, Methodology or model |
The inflow of energy needed by a system for its subsistance.
Any ecosystem , biological or human social system depends on energy inputs for its maintenance and dynamic stability (J.P. COLLINS et al, 2000, p. 416-25).
Stable energy inputs allow for stable energy dissipation by the system (Prigogine's Principle of minimum entropy production) .
Any system starved of energy input s and devoid of compensatory available reserve s is doomed to rapid destruction.
On the contrary when a system increases its energy inputs , it becomes able to create more complex processes and structures through a more active energy dissipation and the consequent emergence process.
Such a phenomenon has dominated the evolution of mankind, particularly since the beginning of the 19th Century, to date.
However, in fact the transformation has been obtained through an enormous subsidy of non-renewable fossil energy supply. Should this supply dwindle in the future, subsequent growth and dynamic stability will depend on its sufficient replacement by a renewable supply, i.e. basically solar energy and its derived forms.