emanation

Emanation is the process by which something flows forth from a source. The term is used across disciplines to indicate outputs that originate in and continue to issue from a primary cause or principle. In everyday language, emanation can refer to physical outputs such as light, heat, or odors, as well as nonmaterial outputs like influence, ideas, or cultural trends.

In science, emanation often emphasizes the source and its ongoing output. It can describe the release of energy or particles from a system, such as radioactive emanation from minerals or gases that emanate from soils. Emanation is closely related to emission, diffusion, and radiation, though it is sometimes preferred when the focus is on the originating source as a continuing fountain of outputs.

In philosophy and theology, emanation denotes a metaphysical process by which all beings derive from a single, primary source. In Neoplatonism, the One emanates the Nous (Intellect) and the World Soul; in Kabbalah, the Infinite (Ein Sof) emanates the Sephirot, the channels through which creation unfolds. Emanation is often presented as a way to explain the emergence of multiplicity and order from unity without positing a creation ex nihilo. The concept has variations across traditions, but the common thread is a directional flow from an ultimate source outward into the ensuing levels of reality.