- What is an open system?
- Characteristics of open systems
- Examples of open systems
- Closed systems
- Isolated systems
We explain what an open system is in different areas, its characteristics and examples. In addition, closed and isolated systems.
What is an open system?
When we speak of an open system (or also a floating system or constant volume system) we refer to a portion of the universe delimited or mentally abstracted from the rest, that is, a system whose fundamental feature is that it allows the free exchange of information with its environment, without presenting barriers or impediments to flow.
Is idea or concept It is used in different areas of human knowledge, both in the natural Sciences as in the social Sciences. Clearly, it is part of an attempt to understand the reality structurally and functionally based on the general notion of a system.
Thus, in the case of natural sciences, an open system is one that exchanges so much mass What Energy with the environment, taking what you need and letting out what you don't. Similarly, in the social sciences, open systems exchange capitals, information, people, etc., with other similar systems or with the rest of your specific environment.
One of the main philosophical approaches to open systems emerged in 1956, the work of the Austrian biologist and philosopher Ludwig von Bertalanffy (1901-1972), and represents his particular contribution to the General systems theory, of much greater theoretical scope.
According to von Bertalanffy, all systems are, to some extent, open systems, since the flow from and to the outside cannot be completely stopped, unless the system is empty, which is completely impossible (since it would no longer be a system in absolute).
Characteristics of open systems
Open systems, according to theory, are characterized by:
- It allows the free exchange of information (matter, energy, money, etc.) between the inside of the system and the outside or outside environment.
- Given that much of its information comes from outside, for practical purposes of studying the system, it can be considered as an inexhaustible and constant source in the system, that is, these systems, in theory, have inexhaustible resources.
- They lack or possess barriers or impediments to the flow of information, but only up to a certain and limited amount.
Examples of open systems
In its various possible fields of application, the following cases are examples of an open system:
- In the world of physicalAn open thermodynamic system is one that allows energy to pass freely from the inside to the outside and vice versa. This is what happens with an open container with hot water, which radiates its heat to the colder environment, until a Balance thermodynamic between the inside and outside of the system. In addition, water can be poured, meaning that it can also exchange matter.
- In biology, similarly, living beings are understood as open systems to the extent that they are constantly taking and returning matter and energy from environment. Such is the case of the photosynthetic system of plants, who receives the sunlight and uses it to synthesize sugars, releasing in return CO2 to the environment.
- In the computing, an open system is one that allows its users different degree of intervention in the operating mechanism of the software, as is the case with Unix and the so-called "free software”. Traditional programs, on the other hand, would be “closed source”.
- In the management business, an open system is one that includes the business like a organization in constant exchange of elements with the community, instead of a productive machinery closed in on itself. This perspective understands the company as something intrinsically connected with what happens around it.
Closed systems
Closed systems are the opposite of open ones, and therefore consist of systems that do not exchange information with the outside, that is, they are closed on themselves. It is difficult to find systems that are absolutely closed in the universe, so physics considers as "closed" those that only exchange energy with the outside, but not matter.
Isolated systems
An isolated system in physics (specifically, the thermodynamics) is one that is so far removed from other systems that it is impossible for it to interact with them, or that has impenetrable borders that limit the exchange between the inside and the outside, as in the case of thermal insulating material than in clothing. There are no perfect insulators, but there are those capable of significantly reducing the exchange of information.