# strike while the iron is hot (window)

*Ordinarily means:* Act quickly when conditions are right.

A parameter is near a wall where opportunity ends, and the range within which action can succeed is closing as the thing drifts toward a state where nothing will work.

- Computed level: L15 (depth in the emergence graph, not abstraction)
- Status: review  ·  Domain: everyday  ·  Arena: action

## Emergence
**Emerges from:** [window](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-window.range), [wall](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-wall.range-end), [parameter](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-parameter.condition), [drift](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-drift.aimless), [state of the art](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-state-of-the-art.frontier)

**Through:** emergence.novel_properties

**Novel properties:**
- opportunity

## Examples
- Apollo 13's reentry required precise timing within a 30-second window to avoid burning up or skipping off the atmosphere. *(engineering)*
- The 2008 U.S. Treasury auctioned $700 billion in toxic assets within days of the market's freefall peak. *(economics)*
- CRISPR edits in zygotes must occur within 4 hours post-fertilization before chromatin hardens. *(biology)*

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