Dynamic Equilibrium
Updated 2026-08-10
INTRODUCTION
English translation pending.
CORE DEFINITION
The condition in which a system's macroscopic properties remain constant because the rates of opposing processes are equal, even though the underlying processes continue. Body temperature and predator-prey populations are standard examples. The key qualification is that the constancy is maintained by active negative feedback rather than by the absence of change: the equilibrium is a continuous achievement, not a resting state. Beyond a critical perturbation the feedback may fail, and the system can shift abruptly to a different equilibrium.
SCAFFOLDING EFFECT
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- Opposing process mapping: identify the inflow and outflow that keep a quantity steady. - Effort recognition: check what continuous work is maintaining a state that looks effortless. - Stability testing: probe how the system responds to disturbance before assuming it is robust.
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Stability arises from negative feedback that detects deviation from the set point and applies a corrective response, so the observable value stays near constant while internal processes run continuously. Because correction takes time and has limits, a disturbance large enough to exceed the feedback's capacity moves the system to a different regime. That is why equilibrium looks like rest but behaves like control, and why systems that appear stable can change abruptly once the feedback saturates.
MINIMUM ACTION
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Source support: Explicit
- zh.wikipedia.orghttps://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%8B%95%E6%85%8B%E5%B9%B3%E8%A1%A1verified
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