Quote from: evolvingape on 2015-09-18, 15:17:18
Only an open system can be COP>1 ...
And I will stress, if you are not in control of everything that happens at an atomic level or smaller, all systems composed of matter are in fact open systems.
I have yet to see any device sitting on a workbench that is completely isolated from the environment. Take just gravity as one example; ambient heat as another.
You can break most systems down into sub systems, which will be either open or closed. The black box approach is most effective at determining a system COP.
The relationship of the fundamental forces to those systems is an open or closed black box approach.
Open system (systems theory)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_system_%28systems_theory%29An open system is a system that has external interactions. Such interactions can take the form of information, energy, or material transfers into or out of the system boundary, depending on the discipline which defines the concept. An open system is contrasted with the concept of an isolated system which exchanges neither energy, matter, nor information with its environment. An open system is also known as a constant volume system or a flow system.
The concept of an open system was formalized within a framework that enabled one to interrelate the theory of the organism, thermodynamics, and evolutionary theory.[1] This concept was expanded upon with the advent of information theory and subsequently systems theory. Today the concept has its applications in the natural and social sciences.
In the natural sciences an open system is one whose border is permeable to both energy and mass.[2] In physics a closed system, by contrast, is permeable to energy but not to matter.
Open systems have a number of consequences. A closed system contains limited energies. The definition of an open system assumes that there are supplies of energy that cannot be depleted; in practice, this energy is supplied from some source in the surrounding environment, which can be treated as infinite for the purposes of study. One type of open system is the so-called radiant energy system, which receives its energy from solar radiation – an energy source that can be regarded as inexhaustible for all practical purposes.
Closed systemhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Closed_systemA closed system is a physical system which does not allow certain types of transfers (such as transfer of mass) in or out of the system. The specification of what types of transfers are excluded varies in the closed systems of physics, chemistry or engineering.
Isolated systemhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isolated_systemIn physical science, an isolated system is either (1) a thermodynamic system which is completely enclosed by walls through which can pass neither matter nor energy, though they can move around inside it; or (2) a physical system so far removed from others that it does not interact with them, though it is subject to its own gravity. Usually an isolated system is free from effects of long-range external forces such as gravity. The walls of an isolated thermodynamic system are adiabatic, rigid, and impermeable to matter.
This can be contrasted with what is called a closed system, which is selectively enclosed by walls through which energy but not matter can pass, and with an open system, which both matter and energy can enter or exit, though it may have variously impermeable walls in parts of its boundaries.
An isolated system obeys the conservation law that its total energy–mass stays constant.
Because of the requirement of enclosure, and the near ubiquity of gravity, strictly and ideally isolated systems do not actually occur in experiments or in nature. They are thus hypothetical concepts only.
Black boxhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_boxIn science, computing, and engineering, a black box is a device, system or object which can be viewed in terms of its inputs and outputs (or transfer characteristics), without any knowledge of its internal workings. Its implementation is "opaque" (black). Almost anything might be referred to as a black box: a transistor, algorithm, or the human brain.
The opposite of a black box is a system where the inner components or logic are available for inspection, which is most commonly referred to as a white box (sometimes also known as a "clear box" or a "glass box").
Everyman Standing Order 01: In the Face of Tyranny; Everybody Stands, Nobody Runs.
Everyman Standing Order 02: Everyman is Responsible for Energy and Security.
Everyman Standing Order 03: Everyman knows Timing is Critical in any Movement.