LIFE TIME
| Collection | International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Vol. (num.) | 2(1) |
| ID | ◀ 1912 ▶ |
| Object type | General information |
The span of survivance of a component in a system or subsystem.
According to R. ROSEN, in an arbitrary system M “. each component M$_{i}$ of M has a finite life-time which we shall denote by u$_{i}$; by this we mean that, after M$_{i}$ has been in operation for an interval of time u$_{i}$ it shall cease to function.” (1974b, p.31).
This is a very general property of components in complex systems (living systems and organizations, and in an analogous way, machines). The replacement of components by other components of the same type is an absolute necessity for these systems and is done in living systems through hypercycles and organizational closure.
In order to obtain some predictive power about the life time of systems or their components and their probable breakdown time, P. WINIWARTER and C. CEMPEL have defined “life symptoms” and “life curves” in relation to wear. An “auto-regressive stochastic process” is observed. (1992, p.9-34).