POSITIVE FEEDBACK MECHANISMS– push a system to a new state of
equilibrium
E.g., Imagine you are lost on a high snowy mountain. When your body senses
that it is cooling below 370C, various mechanisms such as shivering help to raise
your internal temperature again, but if these are insufficient to restore normal
body temperature, your metabolic processes start to slow down, as, like most
chemical reactions, they happen more slowly at lower temperatures. As a result
you become lethargic and sleepy and move around less and less, allowing your
body to cool even further. Unless you are rescued at this point, your body will
reach a new equilibrium – you will die of hypothermia.