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.

The term stable may be used in any of these contexts as an adjective: as a noun it also means a building designed for horses (see stable).