| Objects under consideration | System | Environment | Object characteristics and process direction |
| Universe | Planet Earth | Space | Nonequilibrium object. ΔS ≥ 0. Here S is the entropy of the Universe |
| Inhabited planet Earth | Biosphere | The rest of the planet | Biosphere is nonequilibrium object, ΔF = ΔU − ТΔS ≥ 0. Here U and S are parameters of the system. |
| Hypothetical planet Earth without people | Earth without people | Space | Quasi-equilibrium object, q = 0, V and Т = const. |