ABSTRACT
This example also illustrates the role of fluctuations in the models of the Brussels school. The argument is as follows. Small fluctuations around stable states will usually simply lead to a return to the equilibrium state. If, however, the system is sufficiently near to a critical point, say Q, or the fluctuations are large enough to reach the unstable states on PQ, then they can be amplified by the existence of the unstable states and lead to a jump to the other stable state before the critical point is reached. This amplification is the source of the creation of 'order from fluctuations I which we will discuss further below.
