Autocatalytic set
Construct Definition
A collection of interacting entities often reacts in certain ways only, e.g. entity 1 may be able to affect 4 but not 3. Entity 2 may only affect 1. For a sufficiently large collection of different entities a situation may arise where a complete network of interconnections can be established - the entities become part of one coupled system. This is called an autocatalytic set, after the ability of molecules to catalyse each other's formation in the chemical equivalent of this arrangement.