System and environment

To define a system, a clear system border has to be present between system and environment. However, this system border depends on the scope of the researcher, in t Veld (Veld in t, 1999). A system s view of an organization is shown in Figure 16. This system s view of an organization will be used in the remainder of this thesis. 

However at a critical distance from equilibrium, the system must choose between two possible pathways, represented by the bifurcation point Ac. The continuation of the initial pathway, indicated by a broken hne, indicates the region of instability. The concentration of the species A and the value of A assume quite different values, and the more so, the further from equilibrium. An important point is that the choice between the two branching directions is casual, with 50 50 probability of either. The critical point Ac has particular importance because beyond it, the system can assume an organized structure. Here the term self-organization is introduced as a consequence of the dissipative structures, dissipative in the sense that it results from an exchange of matter and energy between system and environment (we are considering open systems). 

There are many factors that can affect the stability of a pharmaceutical product. These include the stability of the active drug(s), interactions between active and inactive ingredients, the dosage form, manufacturing process, the container system, and environment for shipping, handling, and storage. 

The system is defined as the set of those quantum degrees of freedom that one is interested to control and measure the environment consists of all the rest, namely those degrees-of-freedom we can neither control nor measure. The coupling between the system and environment is VCOUpiing- The properties of the environment are controlled by macroscopic parameters, such as temperature. Our treatment below applies to a reservoir at either zero or a finite temperature. 

The second law is associated with the direction of a process. It defines the fundamental property entropy, S, and states that in any real process the direction of the process corresponds to the direction in which the total entropy increases, that is, the entropy change of both the system and environment should in total result in a positive result or in equation form... 

A. Muharemovic, Electric power system and environment, Sarajevo, 1996. 

Theoretical predictions of decoherence rates, based on known interactions between system and environment, are still only at a primitive level due to the complexity of most experimental situations. A simple example will be discussed in this chapter in relation to one of the experiments. The Compton scattering of neutrons also seems to allow measurements that have another connection to recent discussions on quantum information theory, namely, the energy needed to destroy information stored in quantum entanglement. At the end of this chapter, this possibility will be mentioned briefiy. 

Knowledge-based processing is the highest level and applies to unfamiliar situations for which rules are available. Performance is goal controlled and conscious. The goal and plans need to be explicitly developed, and reasoning is accomplished with knowledge (i.e., a mental model) of the system and environment. 

The state of the controlled process This information is used to (1) update the controllers process models and (2) to detect faults and failures in the other parts of the control loop, system, and environment. 

Prior to putting up an equation of change for any property the system under consideration has to be defined. Thus the first step is to identify the system boundary, which allows to recognize interaction between system and environment. The boundary may be open, adiabatic, closed, or completely isolated. A closed boundary is impermeable to at r mass flow, and an adiabatic boundary prevents any heat flow. An isolating boundary is impenetrable for heat and mass. 

Assumptions to simplify complex systems and environment Conceptual and qualitative models Quantitative models and simulations... 

Together, the system and environment blocks constitute the superblock. The total Hamiltonian is apphed to the superblock. Thus, unlike the constituent blocks, the superblock is specified by conserved quantmn numbers (e.g. spin and charge), and consequently a subbasis of the entire Hilbert space is constructed from a subbasis of the direct product of the system and environment blocks. Denoting a subbasis of the superblock as m) we have... 

Qsurr is nearly proportional to temperature difference between system and environment ... 

The activation energy has been the most widely used measure to determine the merits of a proposed reaction mechanism. Through appropriate consideration of the reacting system and environment, activation energies reasonably close to empirically... 

Note that the symbol d is used for the differential of a state function or state variable whereas 5 just indicates an infinitesimally small amount of a quantity that is dependent on the path taken). For w and, hence, Sw, various types of work may be considered, such as mechanical work resulting from compression or expansion of the system, electrical work, interfacial work associated with expanding or reducing the interfacial area between two phases, and chemical work due to the exchange of matter between the system and environment. All types of work are expressed as dT, where X and Y are state variables. X is an intensive property (independent of the... 

Do our structures, systems, and environment facilitate or block us from behaving safely ... 

According to the International Ergonomics Association, Ergonomics draws on the physical and life sciences, applying data on human physical and psychological characteristics to the design of machines, devices, systems, and environments as a means of improving the practicality, efficiency, and safety of human-machine relationships. ... 

Two papers consider the challenge of adapting the system to different performance levels as needed to ensure safety according to the existing operational conditions, e.g., system and environment state. 

The third aspect of the scope, the extension, is of a different kind since it refers to the relationships between the system and its environment. The environment is, however, neither a homogeneous nor a passive entity. The environment itself consists of other systems. (The terms system and environment are thus relative, depending on the chosen focus, similar to the notions of figure and ground in Gestalt psychology or visual perception.)... 

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