GOVERNOR MECHANISM (Virtual)
| Collection | International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Vol. (num.) | 2(1) |
| ID | ◀ 1454 ▶ |
| Object type | Discipline oriented, General information, Human sciences, Methodology or model |
A complex control in a network obtained through reciprocal compensation among a set of oscillating elements .
Such a mechanism is described by P. Smith CHURCHLAND, who gives the example of a set of electrical generators, each of them presenting “fluctuations of frequency of 10 percent around some average value”(1989, p. 365)
- “Taken joined together in a suitable network, their collective frequency variability is only a fraction of that figure because, statistically, generators momentarily fluctuating behind the average output in phase are compensated for by the remaining generators, and conversely, generators momentarily ahead in phase have their energy absorbed by the remainder. The entire system functions from an input/output point of view, as a single generator with greatly increased frequency reliability , or as control engineers express it, with a single, more powerful, ”virtual governor“(Ibid)
This example uline a basic characteristic of networks: Their efficiency as a whole makes them advantageous as a whole, but also for every participant. This explains how and why networks are the typical device for any kind of social organization .
See also
Automata (Reliability of), Co-evolution, Correlation device, Correlation (Directive), Feedback (self-normative), Oscillator, Regulator, Reliability in dynamic terms, Sociality, Socialization