created:: 2026-03-18 is_a:: Concept subsumed_under:: Non-Equilibrium Physics originated_from:: Ilya Prigogine

Dissipative Structure

How can structured, patterned systems exist in a universe trending toward disorder?

a Dissipative Structure is a persistent pattern sustained by energy passing through it, it explains how spontaneous order can arises far from equilibrium

Without Dissipative Structures, we would have no explanation for hurricanes, flames, or life — just equilibrium and chaos