# Thermodynamic system
## MicroSim spec
- **Recommended sim type:** [[Energy|energy]]/force diagram
- **Microsimmability score:** 78/100
- **Layout:** system boundary with energy-flow arrows on the canvas plus an energy readout; sliders below.
### Parameters (tunable controls)
- `Energy input`
- `Boundary flux`
- `Temperature / state`
### What animates
Energy moves across the system boundary; the internal state and a conserved-energy readout update live as the input changes.
### Learning objective
Relate boundary exchange to changes in the system's internal state and energy balance.
## Links (Wikipedia order)
<!-- injected from _registry/childlinks/Thermodynamic_system.json (2026-07-30T02:09:12Z) -->
`Absorption_refrigerator` · `Adiabatic_process` · `Adiabatic_wall` · `An_Inquiry_Concerning_the_Source_of_the_Heat_Which_Is_Excited_by_Friction` · `Atkinson_cycle` · `Benjamin_Thompson` · `Black_hole_thermodynamics` · `Brayton_cycle` · `Bridgman's_thermodynamic_equations` · `Brownian_ratchet` · `Caloric_theory` · `Calorimeter` · `Carnot's_theorem_(thermodynamics)` · `Carnot_cycle` · `Carnot_heat_engine` · `Chemical_equilibrium` · `Chemical_oscillator` · `Chemical_potential` · `Chemical_thermodynamics` · `Cheng_cycle` · `Clausius_theorem` · [[Closed_system]] · `Combined-cycle_power_plant` · `Compressibility` · `Compressibility_factor` · `Conjugate_variables_(thermodynamics)` · `Constantin_Carathéodory` · `Control_volume` · `Daniel_Bernoulli` · `Degrees_of_freedom_(physics_and_chemistry)` · `Diesel_cycle` · `Dirk_ter_Haar` · [[Dynamical_system]] · `Ecological_economics` · `Edward_A._Guggenheim` · `Einstein_refrigerator` · `Electric_charge` · `Electric_field` · `Endoreversible_thermodynamics` · [[Energy]] · `Energy_system` · `Enthalpy` · [[Entropy]] · `Entropy_(energy_dispersal)` · `Entropy_and_life` · `Entropy_production` · `Equation_of_state` · `Equilibrium_thermodynamics` · `Ericsson_cycle` · `Expander_cycle` · `External_combustion_engine` · `First_law_of_thermodynamics` · `François_Massieu` · `Free_entropy` · `Fundamental_thermodynamic_relation` · `GENERIC_formalism` · `Gas` · `Gas-generator_cycle` · `Gas_laws` · `Georg_Ernst_Stahl` · `Gibbs_free_energy` · `Gilbert_N._Lewis` · `H-theorem` · `Hampson–Linde_cycle` · `Harald_Wergeland` · `Heat` · `Heat_capacity` · `Heat_capacity_ratio` · `Heat_death_paradox` · `Heat_engine` · `Heat_of_combustion` · `Heat_pump_and_refrigeration_cycle` · `Helmholtz_free_energy` · `Herbert_Callen` · `Hermann_von_Helmholtz` · `High-efficiency_hybrid_cycle` · `History_of_entropy` · `History_of_perpetual_motion_machines` · `History_of_thermodynamics` · `Homogeneous_charge_compression_ignition` · `Hot_air_engine` · `Humphrey_cycle` · `Hygroscopic_cycle` · `Ideal_gas` · `Ideal_gas_law` · [[Ilya_Prigogine]] · `Inexact_differential` · `Intensive_and_extensive_properties` · `Internal_combustion_engine` · `Internal_energy` · `Internal_pressure` · `Introduction_to_entropy` · `Ionocaloric_refrigeration` · `Irreversible_process` · `Isenthalpic_process` · `Isentropic_process` · `Isobaric_process` · `Isochoric_process` · [[Isolated_system]] · `Isothermal_flow` · `Isothermal_process` · `James_Clerk_Maxwell` · `James_Prescott_Joule` · `Johannes_Diderik_van_der_Waals` · `John_James_Waterston` · `John_Smeaton` · [[Josiah_Willard_Gibbs]] · `Julius_von_Mayer` · `Kalina_cycle` · `Kleemenko_cycle` · `Lars_Onsager` · `Latent_heat` · `Laws_of_thermodynamics` · `Lenoir_cycle` · `List_of_thermodynamic_properties` · `Lord_Kelvin` · `Loschmidt's_paradox` · `Ludwig_Boltzmann` · `László_Tisza` · `Macroscopic_scale` · `Magnetic_Thermodynamic_Systems` · `Manson_engine` · `Mass` · `Material_properties_(thermodynamics)` · [[Mathematical_model]] · `Matter` · `Max_Born` · `Max_Planck` · `Maxwell's_demon` · `Maxwell's_thermodynamic_surface` · `Maxwell_relations` · `Mechanical_equivalent_of_heat` · `Mechanically_isolated_system` · `Miller_cycle` · `Mirror` · `Mixed/dual_cycle` · `Molecular_chaos` · `Molecule` · `Momentum` · `Nicolas_Léonard_Sadi_Carnot` · `Non-equilibrium_thermodynamics` · `Nucleation` · `On_the_Equilibrium_of_Heterogeneous_Substances` · `Onsager_reciprocal_relations` · [[Open_system_(systems_theory)]] · `Organic_Rankine_cycle` · `Otto_cycle` · `Particle_number` · `Percy_Williams_Bridgman` · `Phase_(matter)` · `Phenomenon` · `Physical_quantity` · [[Physical_system]] · `Pierre_Duhem` · `Piobert's_law` · `Polytropic_process` · `Power_(physics)` · `Pressure` · `Pressure_gain_combustion` · `Pressure–volume_diagram` · `Process_function` · `Pseudo_Stirling_cycle` · `Pulse_tube_refrigerator` · `Quantum_statistical_mechanics` · `Quantum_thermodynamics` · `Quasistatic_process` · `Radiation` · `Rankine_cycle` · `Real_gas` · `Reduced_properties` · `Reflections_on_the_Motive_Power_of_Fire` · `Regenerative_cooling` · `Reversible_process_(thermodynamics)` · `Robert_A._Alberty` · [[Rudolf_Clausius]] · `Scuderi_cycle` · [[Second_law_of_thermodynamics]] · `Self-assembly` · [[Self-organization]] · `Semipermeable_membrane` · `Sensible_heat` · `Siemens_cycle` · `Staged_combustion_cycle` · `State_function` · `State_of_matter` · `Statistical_mechanics` · `Steam_engine` · `Stirling_cycle` · `Stochastic` · `Stoddard_engine` · `Synergetics_(Haken)` · [[System]] · `Table_of_thermodynamic_equations` · `Temperature` · `Temperature–entropy_diagram` · `Theorem_of_corresponding_states` · `Thermal_efficiency` · `Thermal_expansion` · `Thermal_radiation` · `Thermally_isolated_system` · `Thermodynamic_cycle` · `Thermodynamic_databases_for_pure_substances` · `Thermodynamic_diagrams` · `Thermodynamic_equations` · [[Thermodynamic_equilibrium]] · `Thermodynamic_free_energy` · `Thermodynamic_instruments` · `Thermodynamic_operation` · `Thermodynamic_potential` · `Thermodynamic_process` · `Thermodynamic_state` · `Thermodynamic_temperature` · [[Thermodynamics]] · `Third_law_of_thermodynamics` · `Timeline_of_heat_engine_technology` · `Timeline_of_thermodynamics` · `Transcritical_cycle` · `Two-state_quantum_system` · `Vapor-compression_refrigeration` · `Vapor_quality` · `Vis_viva` · `Volume_(thermodynamics)` · `Volume_element` · `Volumetric_flow_rate` · `Vuilleumier_cycle` · `Walther_Nernst` · `Work_(thermodynamics)` · `Zeroth_law_of_thermodynamics`
## From the Real GENERATIVE library
*Thermodynamic system — placed from the Real G.E.N.E.R.A.T.I.V.E. course library (Nuclear room). Source: Wikimedia Commons (via Wikipedia article media). [Details & license](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Diagram_Systems.svg).*
> A thermodynamic system is a body of matter and/or radiation separate from its surroundings that can be studied using the laws of thermodynamics. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermodynamic_system))
<!-- REAL-GENERATIVE-MEDIA:END -->
> p5.js MicroSim stub · part of [[System]] · [Wikipedia source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermodynamic_system)
> Relation: subfield of System.
## Concept summary
A thermodynamic system is a body of matter and/or radiation separate from its surroundings that can be studied using the laws of [[Thermodynamics|thermodynamics]].
## Build checklist
- [ ] Claim it: set `status: in-progress` + `lease` + `leased_at`
- [ ] Write the child page explaining the concept (tie it back to system)
- [ ] Finalize parameter ranges and defaults
- [ ] Implement the p5.js sketch (drawing + control regions)
- [ ] Add caption + the learning objective on the page
- [ ] Set `status: done`
## p5.js sketch
```javascript
// MicroSim: Thermodynamic system
let controls = {};
function setup() {
// createCanvas(...); create sliders for the parameters above.
}
function draw() {
// background(...); read controls; render energy/force diagram; respond live.
}
```
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Back to [[System]] · Wikipedia: [Thermodynamic system](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermodynamic_system)
---
<!-- SEMIOTIC-PROFILE:START -->
## Semiotic profile
> *The semiotic universals this article invokes, machine-derived from the crossref — **unverified** (born so). Populated 2026-07-06 for the Systems room.*
**Universals (8):** 🟡 system (12) · 🟢 energy (10) · 🟡 thermodynamics (2) · 🟢 conservation (1) · 🟢 flow (1) · 🟢 flux (1) · 🟢 temperature heat (1) · 🟢 tradeoff balance (1)
**Enter by sign:** Systems Semiotic Gateway · Alphabetum · Icon Registry · ← Systems Portal
<!-- SEMIOTIC-PROFILE:END -->
<!-- REAL-GENERATIVE-MEDIA:START -->
## Wikipedia : Wikitube
**Strict pair:** [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermodynamic_system) : [Wikitube](https://en.wikitube.io/wiki/Thermodynamic_system)
## Previous hub tags
Tree parents: [[Self-organization]] · [[Systems_theory]].
Legacy hubs: none.
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*Sources: 1 legacy note. Minted wave 1, 2026-07-30 (v1.6 order).*