Advances in Conception about Earthquakes - Earthquake Engineering for Structural Design - page 117

where two different phase types can be perceived. The first is the Near to
equilibrium phase, where all the phenomena are framed in the linear behavior, the
influence of fluctuations is much reduced and the rules of Thermodynamics
referring to the closed systems can be applied. In this field, systems respond to
fluctuations by returning to equilibrium. Contrary, the second one is the Far from
equilibrium phase, where it exists only if an open system is considered in the field
of nonlinear behavior. Systems far from equilibrium may respond to fluctuations
by evolving to new states. The main characteristic of this phase is the dependence
of its environment. Due to this fact an internal self-organization of the system can
be noticed.
Therefore, the new Prigogine paradigm replaced the early Newtonian paradigm.
The new paradigm is based on the observation that the dynamics of a system in
nonlinear range can tend to increase the inherent order of the system.
Self-organization is a process of attraction and repulsion, in which the internal
organization of a system, normally an open system away from equilibrium,
increases in complexity, without being guided or managed by an outside source
(Wikipedia, nd). This concept in early days was identified as a system which
changes its basic structure as a function of its experience and environment. The
present definition considers the organism and environment taken all together. The
concept of self-organization is central for describing the biological system
(evolution and morphogenesis), but it can be found in many other disciplines, both
in the natural sciences (physics, chemistry and biosphere), mathematics (computer
science and cybernetics) and in the social sciences (human society and economics),
which tend to produce organization.
These systems, also named as Dissipative Systems, are the thermodynamically
open systems operating far from the equilibrium in an environment, where energy
and matter are exchanged (CSCS, 2006, Wikipedia, nd). These systems tend to
dissipate energy as they interact with the environment and they are able to maintain
identity being open to flows of energy, matter or information from the
environment. The energy arrived from the outside is quickly dissipated by the
system situated far from the equilibrium. At the same time, these systems can
produce internal energy and exchange it with the external environment (Green,
2000).
In the frame of these theories, there are some new aspects as bifurcation and
chaos, which will be discussed in the following sections.
What does it mean this general theory for understanding the occurring of
earthquakes?
Earthquakes are complex, destructive phenomena and it is extremely difficult to
model them. The occurring of earthquakes must be related to the plate tectonics,
which is one of the most successful theories in the history of natural sciences,
having revolutionized all the Earth science. The idea of continental fixity has been