Systems in practice

[Maria Bajenov 1I]

Can any system truly be isolated or adiabatic in practice or only in theory?

[sahiltelang-Discussion 1J]

They are no truly 100% isolated systems in the universe. We have devices though such as bomb calorimeter that are practically isolated so we can just treat them in that manner.

[Wenxin Fan 1J]

Systems can only be completely isolated in theory. Most "isolated" systems are more similar to closed systems in real life.

[Brandon Fujii 1K]

One can argue that the universe is an isolated system because matter and energy is neither created nor destroyed.

[Sarah Maraach 2K]

Very true that real-world systems aren't ever truly isolated. However, devices such as the bomb calorimeter are close enough to be considered isolated since the amount of energy exchanged in an environment is very small. Thus, it can be practical to assume it's isolated.