# substrate (level)

a level whose parameters set the walls of another level's window

- Computed level: L17 (depth in the emergence graph, not abstraction)
- Status: review  ·  Domain: emergence  ·  Arena: system

## Emergence
**Emerges from:** [parameter](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-parameter.condition), [wall](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-wall.range-end), [window](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-window.range), [level](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-level.spatial), [sets](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-sets.grouped)

**Through:** The components form a nested structure where a spatial level contains grouped parameters whose conditional values define the range-end walls that bound another level's window.

**Novel properties:**
- nested level constraints
- parameter-defined boundaries
- hierarchical windowing

## Examples
- In the Linux kernel, the scheduler's time-slice parameter (4ms) sets the wall for user-space processes' execution windows. [computing] *(computing)*
- The 2022 Dutch nitrogen ceiling (1.4 Tg/year) constrained building permits across provinces until new rules emerged. [institutions] *(institutions)*
- Granite bedrock depth in Yosemite (average 1.2km) sets the lower wall for glacial valley erosion profiles. [geology] *(geology)*

## Used by
- [pure](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-pure.state) (L18)

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