Stability

The word stability has a number of technical meanings, all related to the common meaning of the word.

In mechanics, stability characterizes the result of small perturbations to a system in mechanical equilibrium.
In system analysis and signal processing, stability means either:
- BIBO (Bounded Input, Bounded Output) stability
- Lyapunov stability
In control theory, stability characterizes the reaction of a dynamic system to external influences.
In numerical analysis, stability refers to how well an algorithm performs with regard to error in the numerical results: see numerical stability.
In everyday conversation about computers, stability is the tendency or otherwise of a system or program to crash.
In Meteorology stability in the air relates to vertical movements of air parcels.
On a boat it refers to the righting moment, and the resistance of the boat to capsize.
In sociology, stability refers to social stability.
In ecology, ecological stability can take on any connotaion in a continuum ranging from returning quickly to a previous state to simply not going extinct.