⊿ Point. {R} Glossary. ◢ Keyword: O. ◥ University. {q} PhD. {tr} Training. ⚫ UK. ↂ EndNote. ☝️ Weerakkody. Open system (systems theory) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Systems with external interactions An 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 flow system. 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. Structural functionalists such as Talcott Parsons and neofunctionalists such as Niklas Luhmann have incorporated system theory to describe society and its components.
Khalil, E.L. (1995). OPEN SYSTEM, Principia Cybernetica Web, 2007.