stable equilibrium
Returns when disturbed
Stable equilibrium is a state of balance that, when disturbed, tends to restore itself.
A ball resting at the bottom of a bowl is in stable equilibrium—push it, and it rolls back to center.
The concept applies in physics, economics, and ecology: The ecosystem maintained a stable equilibrium despite seasonal fluctuations.
Contrast with unstable equilibrium, where any disturbance causes the system to move further from its balanced state.
- Lyapunov exponentsRates measuring dynamical sensitivity
- steady stateUnchanging system condition
- balanceSteadiness or amount owed
- physicsScience of matter and energy
- fixed pointValue unchanged by function
restoring force · attractor · center of mass · gravitational pull · perturbation · mechanics · spring constant · rocking chair · dynamics · critical points · homeostasis · entropy · angular momentum · pendulum · metastable · negative feedback · permanent · latent heat
- stabilitysteady, firmness, unsteady, steadiness, balanced
- equilibriumbalance, steady state, stasis, equilibria, poise
- dynamical systemsattractors, attractor, chaos theory, equilibria, fixed points
- asymptoticsorder of magnitude, growth rate, decay rate, exponential growth, exponential decay
stable equilibriumunstable equilibrium
Balance lost if nudged
tipping point · saddle point · critical point · house of cards
stable equilibriuminstability
Tendency toward unpredictable change
disequilibrium · chaos · turbulence · flux · upheaval
stable, equilibrium, stability, stabilize, stabilization, stabilizer, unstable, instability, stably