{"schema":"https://ver.cy/schemas/card/1.0.0","id":"vr.tr.physical-state","code":"thing-q230855","url":"https://ver.cy/models/thing/q230855/","name":"physical state","alternateNames":["born","building airtightness","macrostate","state of dynamical system","state of biological system","global system state"],"kind":"thing","status":"published","version":"0.2.0-wave.4","language":"en","classifiers":{"family":"Thing Registry","category":"Cross-cutting context","entryKind":"thing","plane":"XCT","domain":["XCT.STA"],"industry":[],"navPath":"","tags":[],"facets":{}},"whatItIs":"The condition of a physical system at a given moment as described by its variables, from the macrostate of a thermodynamic system and the state of a dynamical system in phase space to the state of a biological system and the global state of a distributed computer system, and, in a loose registry sense, properties such as building airtightness; the registry alias born appears misfiled. Physical state is a general concept underlying thermodynamics, mechanics and systems theory.","purpose":"Let an agent explain physical state as a general concept, relay how state is defined in thermodynamics, dynamics, biology and computing from reference sources, describe macrostates and system states, and distinguish physical state from state of matter, from the everyday sense of condition and from the misfiled alias.","scope":{"in":[],"out":[],"boundaries":[]},"distinguishingFeatures":["Variable-defined","Field-specific formalisms","Macro and micro levels","Time evolution"],"structure":{"bundles":[{"id":"understand","name":"Understand","description":"What physical state is.","layers":[{"id":"definition","name":"Definition","description":"Definition.","findings":[{"id":"definition-finding","name":"Definition","description":"Definition.","questions":[{"text":"What is a physical state, and how does it differ from state of matter and the everyday sense of condition?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Is the question about thermodynamics, dynamics, biology, computing or a misfiled alias?","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"kinds","name":"Kinds","description":"Kinds.","findings":[{"id":"kinds-finding","name":"Kinds","description":"Kinds.","questions":[{"text":"What are macrostates, dynamical system states, biological system states and global system states?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Which entry fits the specific kind?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"physics","name":"Physics","description":"Physics.","layers":[{"id":"thermo","name":"Thermodynamics","description":"Macrostates and microstates.","findings":[{"id":"thermo-finding","name":"Thermodynamics","description":"Thermodynamics.","questions":[{"text":"How do macrostates relate to microstates and entropy?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which references are standard?","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"dynamics","name":"Dynamics","description":"Dynamical systems.","findings":[{"id":"dynamics-finding","name":"Dynamics","description":"Dynamics.","questions":[{"text":"How is state defined in phase space, and how does it evolve?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which sources are cited?","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]},{"id":"systems","name":"Systems","description":"Other systems.","layers":[{"id":"biology","name":"Biology","description":"Biological systems.","findings":[{"id":"biology-finding","name":"Biology","description":"Biology.","questions":[{"text":"How is the state of a biological system described in systems biology?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits systems biology?","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"computing","name":"Computing","description":"Computer systems.","findings":[{"id":"computing-finding","name":"Computing","description":"Computing.","questions":[{"text":"What is the global state of a distributed system, and why is it hard to capture?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits distributed computing?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"context","name":"Context","description":"Aliases and philosophy.","layers":[{"id":"airtightness","name":"Airtightness","description":"Building airtightness.","findings":[{"id":"airtightness-finding","name":"Airtightness","description":"Airtightness.","questions":[{"text":"What is building airtightness, and where should it be covered?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits building airtightness?","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"philosophy","name":"Philosophy","description":"Philosophy.","findings":[{"id":"philosophy-finding","name":"Philosophy","description":"Philosophy.","questions":[{"text":"How do philosophers of science treat the concept of state?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits philosophy of physics?","kind":"action"}]}]}]}]},"agentConduct":{"may":["Explain what the state of a physical system means in thermodynamics, dynamics and computing.","Name which formalism is meant when describing a state."],"mustNot":["Confuse a system's state with a state of matter such as solid or liquid.","Apply one formalism, such as thermodynamic macrostates, to systems where it does not hold.","Report the state of a system it has not observed or measured as if it had.","Treat misfiled registry aliases as kinds of physical state."],"requiresHuman":["Acting on an inferred system state in a safety-critical control system."]},"ethics":{"considerations":["Wrong state estimates in control systems can cause accidents.","Loose use of the term can mislead students and readers."],"affectedParties":["Students","Operators of physical systems"]},"owners":{"steward":"Nobody owns the concept; it belongs to physics and systems science.","roles":[],"masterSystems":[]},"relations":[{"target":"Q3505845","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"state","type":"related","note":"in registry terms"},{"target":"thermodynamic state","type":"related","note":"in thermodynamics"},{"target":"phase space","type":"related","note":"for dynamical systems"},{"target":"state of matter","type":"related","note":"the phase of a substance"}],"interaction":{"identity":{"applicability":"required","items":["Vercy registry: vr.tr.physical-state","Wikidata: Q230855 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q230855)"]},"properties":{"applicability":"not-applicable","items":["macrostate: defined by macroscopic variables note","phase space: positions and momenta note - dynamical systems","airtightness: air changes per hour at 50 Pa note - building test"]},"recognition":{"applicability":"optional","items":["Condition of a system described by variables","Macrostate, state of a dynamical system, state of a biological system, global system state, building airtightness","State of matter is solid, liquid or gas; condition is informal; born is misfiled","Not a visible object; a set of variable values."]},"capabilities":{"applicability":"required","items":["explain the concept","relay definitions by field","describe macrostates and system states","distinguish related concepts"]},"hazards":{"applicability":"required","items":["Confusing state with state of matter","Registry aliases mixing fields and a misfiled term","Overgeneralising one formalism"]},"interfaces":{"applicability":"required","items":["No regulation; building airtightness standards such as ISO 9972 for that alias"]},"context":{"applicability":"required","items":["Not applicable; a general concept.","thermodynamic macrostates and microstates","states of dynamical systems in phase space","quantum states","states of biological systems","global states of distributed computer systems","measured building states such as airtightness"]}},"sources":[{"title":"Wikidata item Q230855: physical state","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q230855","note":"identity and sense of the item"},{"title":"State (physics)","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_(physics)","note":"A physical system's state as a description of its properties at a given time."},{"title":"Thermodynamic state","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermodynamic_state","note":"The thermodynamic instance of physical state, specified by a system's macroscopic properties."}],"openQuestions":["Should macrostate and global system state be separate primary entries?","How should reference sources be linked?","The registry aliases born and building airtightness appear misfiled; should they be moved?"],"resources":{"spec":"/models/things/publications/thing-q230855/spec.json"},"provenance":{"origin":"thing registry research (pass 2)","builtFrom":["models/things/publications/thing-q230855/spec.json"],"providers":["Claude"],"researchStatus":"unreviewed","generatedAt":"2026-09-13T14:25:16Z","builder":"tools/build_cards.py@1.0.0"},"completeness":{"sections":{"classifiers":"filled","whatItIs":"filled","purpose":"filled","distinguishingFeatures":"filled","structure":"filled","agentConduct":"filled","ethics":"filled","owners":"filled","relations":"filled","interaction.identity":"filled","interaction.properties":"not-applicable","interaction.recognition":"filled","interaction.capabilities":"filled","interaction.hazards":"filled","interaction.interfaces":"filled","interaction.context":"filled","sources":"filled"},"notes":{"_gate":"Published through the thing publication gate 1.0 on 2026-10-07T12:51:16+00:00: completeness 1.00; sense: Wikidata description; 3 live sources; review by codex: pass","interaction.properties":"Plane XCT: no invented physical properties."},"score":1.0}}