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Get a cup of coffee.
In this thread, we'll cover *State Quantities* and *Flow Quantities*.
This mental model can help us analyze many different entities -- from complex engineering systems to publicly traded companies.
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A "State Quantity" is something that's associated with a *specific point in time*.
For example, the number of followers a Twitter account has is a state quantity. This number can go up and down over time. But at any one *specific* time point, it's fixed.
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Similarly, the amount of cash a company has is a state quantity.
This cash balance can also rise and fall over time.
But pick any one *specific* time point -- and the company can only have one *specific* cash balance at that time point.
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By contrast, a "Flow Quantity" is something that's associated with a time *interval* rather than a time *point*.
For example, the number of followers gained by a Twitter account is a flow quantity. It's meaningful only when we specify a time interval (eg, the last 30 days).
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A simple analogy is that a State Quantity is like a photo -- a snapshot at a particular *point* in time.
But a Flow Quantity is like a video -- a record of events that take place during a particular time *interval*.