EQUILIBRIUM (Static)
| Collection | International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Vol. (num.) | 2(1) |
| ID | ◀ 1158 ▶ |
| Object type | General information, Methodology or model |
- “A time independent state of a closed system in which all macroscopic quantities are invariable and all microscopic processes discontinued” (I.V. BLAUBERG, V.N. SADOVSKY & E.G. YUDIN, 1977, p.47).
These authors write: “According to the second law of thermodynamics, each closed system finally reaches a time- independent state of equilibrium with maximum entropy and minimal free energy” (Ibid).
It should be better semantics to call “isolated system” this purely abstract system to which the 2nd. law of thermodynamics applies in a rigorous way.
This type of static equilibrium is quite different from the dynamic equilibrium, proper to steady states in active dynamic systems.
Static equilibrium is necessary a final state in any system, in accordance with the 2d Law of thermodynamics. As stated by A. KATCHALSKY, such final states are “memoryless”, i.e. do not conserve any trace of their former functionality or organization (1971, p.60-61). They normally imply the destruction of the system and the dispersion of its components.