NUCLEATION PRINCIPLE
| Collection | International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Vol. (num.) | 2(2) |
| ID | ◀ 2319 ▶ |
| Object type | Human sciences, Methodology or model |
- “Any structure has a minimum size, which is its ”nucleus“ (K. BOULDING,.1956, p.70)…and ”which results of a “mysterious initial act of nucleation” (p.71).
BOULDING states that the term comes originally from physics, but has a quite wider sense. He writes: “Once a nucleus has been formed, it is not too difficult to understand how additions to the structure are made. The formation of the nucleus itself, however, presents many problems which are quite different from those involved in the growth of an already established structure”.
He gives the example of the crystal, whose minimal nucleus is, by necessity, an ordering of atoms which, as individuals are not crystals and cannot be a nucleus. He adds: “In the case of the cell the problem of nucleation is almost completely unsolved” (Ibid).
On this matter, some important progress has been made since 1956. See: “Autogenetic system precursor”; “Morphogenesis”.
BOULDING also points out that the same phenomenon appears under the guise of social innovators “those mysterious individuals who establish religions, cultures, nations, techniques and ideas” (Ibid).
See also
Zero system