Concept

State variable

Summary
A state variable is one of the set of variables that are used to describe the mathematical "state" of a dynamical system. Intuitively, the state of a system describes enough about the system to determine its future behaviour in the absence of any external forces affecting the system. Models that consist of coupled first-order differential equations are said to be in state-variable form. Examples *In mechanical systems, the position coordinates and velocities of mechanical parts are typical state variables; knowing these, it is possible to determine the future state of the objects in the system. *In thermodynamics, a state variable is an independent variable of a state function. Examples include internal energy, enthalpy, temperature, pressure, volume and entropy. Heat and work are not state functions, but process functions. *In electronic/electrical circuits, the voltages of the nodes and the currents through components in the circuit are usually the state variables. In an
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