# single (quantity)

one thing that is alone

- Computed level: L4 (depth in the emergence graph, not abstraction)
- Status: review  ·  Domain: common  ·  Arena: everyday

## Emergence
**Emerges from:** [alone](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-alone.state), [part](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-part.relation)

**Through:** a part is in a place with no others

**Novel properties:**
- uniqueness
- exclusivity

## Examples
- The Voyager 1 probe, launched in 1977, remains a single spacecraft traveling through interstellar space beyond the heliosphere. *(space)*
- After the 2020 eruption of Taal Volcano, only one island remained visible above water in the lake's main crater. *(geology)*
- In 2013, Estonia's X-Road system linked all government databases into a single digital identity infrastructure. *(computing)*

## Used by
- [contradiction](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-contradiction.logical) (L11)
- [four](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-four.cardinal) (L12)
- [individual](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-individual.entity) (L5)
- [once](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-once.temporal) (L5)
- [unit](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-unit.measurement) (L5)

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*Canonical: https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-single.quantity*  
*Structured data: https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-single.quantity.json*  
*Every definition provably resolves to space, time, energy and pattern.*