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 o ...
, a mechanically isolated system is a system that is mechanically constraint to disallow deformations, so that it cannot perform any work on its environment. It may however, exchange heat across the system boundary.
For a simple system, mechanical isolation is equivalent to a state of constant volume and any process which occurs in such a simple system is said to be
isochoric.
The opposite of a mechanically isolated system is a mechanically open system, which allows the transfer of mechanical energy. For a simple system, a mechanically open boundary is one that is allowed to move under pressure differences between the two sides of the boundary. At
mechanical equilibrium
In classical mechanics, a particle is in mechanical equilibrium if the net force on that particle is zero. By extension, a physical system made up of many parts is in mechanical equilibrium if the net force on each of its individual parts is ze ...
, the pressures on both sides of a mechanically open boundary are equal, but only a mechanically isolating boundary can support pressure differences.
See also
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Closed system
A closed system is a natural physical system that does not allow transfer of matter in or out of the system, although — in contexts such as physics, chemistry or engineering — the transfer of energy (''e.g.'' as work or heat) is allowed.
In ...
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Thermally isolated system
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Dynamical system
In mathematics, a dynamical system is a system in which a function describes the time dependence of a point in an ambient space. Examples include the mathematical models that describe the swinging of a clock pendulum, the flow of water i ...
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Open system
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Thermodynamic system
A thermodynamic system is a body of matter and/or radiation, confined in space by walls, with defined permeabilities, which separate it from its surroundings. The surroundings may include other thermodynamic systems, or physical systems that are ...
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Isolated system
In physical science, an isolated system is either of the following:
# a physical system so far removed from other systems that it does not interact with them.
# a thermodynamic system enclosed by rigid immovable walls through which neither m ...
References
Thermodynamic systems
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