open system

American  

noun

Thermodynamics.

1. a region separated from its surroundings by a boundary that admits a transfer of matter or energy across it.

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open system British  

noun

1. computing an operating system that is not specific to a particular supplier, but conforms to more widely compatible standards

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open system Scientific  

1. A physical system that interacts with other systems. The physical description of an open system can appear to violate conservation laws; for example, in a good description of the mechanism of energy transfer in a car engine (gears, driveshaft, and so on), energy will appear to be lost from the system over time, despite the law of conservation of energy. This is because the system is open, losing energy (in the form of heat) to surrounding systems (through friction). A system that loses energy in this way also called a dissipative system.

2. Compare closed system

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Etymology

Origin of open system

First recorded in 1935–40

Compare meaning

How does open-system compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• open system vs. closed system

Example Sentences

He described the peak as an open system volcano, meaning its “magmatic plumbing system is open and magmas can move to the surface really fast and it can start erupting almost with no warning.”

From Seattle Times

“Acknowledging the limitations,” Metro board member Steve McMillin said, “when you’re trying to secure an open system like ours, I think this is a good common sense change.”

From Washington Post

To do this, simply open System Preferences from your Mac, go to iCloud and sign in using your Apple ID credentials, then open the Messages app on your Mac.

From Fox News

The move is widely seen as a bid to improve the open system to more firmly compete with the Apple Watch.

From BBC

The fact that Epic's model for its app store is not yet profitable is one of Apple's arguments against allowing an open system.

From BBC