Synergetics is an interdisciplinary science explaining the formation and
self-organization
Self-organization, also called spontaneous order in the social sciences, is a process where some form of overall order arises from local interactions between parts of an initially disordered system. The process can be spontaneous when suffi ...
of
patterns
A pattern is a regularity in the world, in human-made design, or in abstract ideas. As such, the elements of a pattern repeat in a predictable manner. A geometric pattern is a kind of pattern formed of geometric shapes and typically repeated l ...
and structures in
open systems far from
thermodynamic equilibrium
Thermodynamic equilibrium is an axiomatic concept of thermodynamics. It is an internal state of a single thermodynamic system, or a relation between several thermodynamic systems connected by more or less permeable or impermeable walls. In thermod ...
. It is founded by
Hermann Haken
Hermann Haken (born 12 July 1927) is physicist and professor emeritus in theoretical physics at the University of Stuttgart. He is known as the founder of synergetics. He is a cousin of the mathematician Wolfgang Haken, who proved the Four ...
, inspired by the
laser
A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word "laser" is an acronym for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation". The fir ...
theory. Haken's interpretation of the laser principles as self-organization of
non-equilibrium systems paved the way at the end of the 1960s to the development of synergetics. One of his successful popular books is ''Erfolgsgeheimnisse der Natur'', translated into English as ''The Science of Structure: Synergetics''.
Self-organization requires a '
macroscopic
The macroscopic scale is the length scale on which objects or phenomena are large enough to be visible with the naked eye, without magnifying optical instruments. It is the opposite of microscopic.
Overview
When applied to physical phenomena an ...
'
system
A system is a group of Interaction, interacting or interrelated elements that act according to a set of rules to form a unified whole. A system, surrounded and influenced by its environment (systems), environment, is described by its boundaries, ...
, consisting of many nonlinearly
interacting
Interaction is action that occurs between two or more objects, with broad use in philosophy and the sciences. It may refer to:
Science
* Interaction hypothesis, a theory of second language acquisition
* Interaction (statistics)
* Interactions o ...
subsystems. Depending on the external control parameters (environment,
energy flux Energy flux is the rate of transfer of energy through a surface. The quantity is defined in two different ways, depending on the context:
# Total rate of energy transfer (not per unit area); SI units: W = J⋅s−1.
# Specific rate of energy transfe ...
es) self-organization takes place.
Order-parameter concept
Essential in synergetics is the order-parameter concept which was originally introduced in the
Ginzburg–Landau theory
In physics, Ginzburg–Landau theory, often called Landau–Ginzburg theory, named after Vitaly Ginzburg and Lev Landau, is a mathematical physical theory used to describe superconductivity. In its initial form, it was postulated as a phenomenol ...
in order to describe
phase transition
In chemistry, thermodynamics, and other related fields, a phase transition (or phase change) is the physical process of transition between one state of a medium and another. Commonly the term is used to refer to changes among the basic states of ...
s in
thermodynamics
Thermodynamics is a branch of physics that deals with heat, work, and temperature, and their relation to energy, entropy, and the physical properties of matter and radiation. The behavior of these quantities is governed by the four laws of the ...
. The order parameter concept is generalized by Haken to the "enslaving-principle" saying that the dynamics of fast-relaxing (stable) modes is completely determined by the 'slow' dynamics of, as a rule, only a few 'order-parameters' (unstable modes). The order parameters can be interpreted as the amplitudes of the unstable modes determining the macroscopic pattern.
As a consequence, self-organization means an enormous reduction of
degrees of freedom
Degrees of freedom (often abbreviated df or DOF) refers to the number of independent variables or parameters of a thermodynamic system. In various scientific fields, the word "freedom" is used to describe the limits to which physical movement or ...
(entropy) of the system which macroscopically reveals an increase of '
order' (pattern-formation). This far-reaching macroscopic order is independent of the details of the microscopic interactions of the subsystems. This supposedly explains the
self-organization
Self-organization, also called spontaneous order in the social sciences, is a process where some form of overall order arises from local interactions between parts of an initially disordered system. The process can be spontaneous when suffi ...
of patterns in so many different systems in physics, chemistry and biology.
See also
*
Effective field theory
In physics, an effective field theory is a type of approximation, or effective theory, for an underlying physical theory, such as a quantum field theory or a statistical mechanics model. An effective field theory includes the appropriate degrees ...
*
Josiah Willard Gibbs
Josiah Willard Gibbs (; February 11, 1839 – April 28, 1903) was an American scientist who made significant theoretical contributions to physics, chemistry, and mathematics. His work on the applications of thermodynamics was instrumental in t ...
*
Phase rule
In thermodynamics, the phase rule is a general principle governing "pVT" systems, whose thermodynamic states are completely described by the variables pressure (), volume () and temperature (), in thermodynamic equilibrium. If is the number of ...
*
Free energy principle
The free energy principle is a mathematical principle in biophysics and cognitive science that provides a formal account of the representational capacities of physical systems: that is, why things that exist look as if they track properties of the ...
*
Fokker–Planck equation
In statistical mechanics, the Fokker–Planck equation is a partial differential equation that describes the time evolution of the probability density function of the velocity of a particle under the influence of drag forces and random forces, as ...
*
Ginzburg–Landau theory
In physics, Ginzburg–Landau theory, often called Landau–Ginzburg theory, named after Vitaly Ginzburg and Lev Landau, is a mathematical physical theory used to describe superconductivity. In its initial form, it was postulated as a phenomenol ...
*
Buckminster Fuller
Richard Buckminster Fuller (; July 12, 1895 – July 1, 1983) was an American architect, systems theorist, writer, designer, inventor, philosopher, and futurist. He styled his name as R. Buckminster Fuller in his writings, publishing more t ...
*
Alexander Bogdanov
Alexander Aleksandrovich Bogdanov (russian: Алекса́ндр Алекса́ндрович Богда́нов; – 7 April 1928), born Alexander Malinovsky, was a Russian and later Soviet physician, philosopher, science fiction writer, and B ...
*
Abiogenesis
In biology, abiogenesis (from a- 'not' + Greek bios 'life' + genesis 'origin') or the origin of life is the natural process by which life has arisen from non-living matter, such as simple organic compounds. The prevailing scientific hypothes ...
References
*
*
*
*
* A. S. Mikhailov: ''Foundations of Synergetics I. Distributed active systems'' (2nd rev. ed. 1994). Springer Verlag, Berlin, 1990, .
* A. S. Mikhailov, A. Yu. Loskutov: ''Foundations of Synergetics II. Chaos and Noise'', 2nd revised and enlarged edition, Springer Series in Synergetics. Springer, Berlin — Heidelberg 1996 (erste Auflage 1991), .
* Norbert Niemeier "Organisatorischer Wandel aus der Sicht der Synergetik"; Deutscher Universitätsverlag, Wiesbaden, 2000,
* D.S. Chernavskii: "Синергетика и информация: Динамическая теория информации", 2-е изд. М.: УРСС.
External links
Homepage of the former Institute for Theoretical Physics and Synergetics (IFTPUS)
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