uncoupled

Uncoupled is an adjective used to describe components, systems, or processes that are not connected or that do not influence one another. When elements are uncoupled, their behavior can be analyzed independently of the others.

In physics and engineering, most systems of interacting parts are described as coupled. An uncoupled system has dynamics that can be separated into independent equations; for example, two harmonic oscillators with no interaction term evolve without affecting one another.

In electronics, uncoupled typically means there is no mutual inductance or signal transfer between circuits, such as transformer windings with zero coupling coefficient. An uncoupled network behaves as a set of independent channels.

In biology, the term is used in the context of energy metabolism: mitochondrial uncoupling describes processes that dissipate the proton gradient across the inner mitochondrial membrane without making ATP, often via uncoupling proteins. This releases energy as heat.

In control theory and signal processing, decoupled or uncoupled designs treat each channel or state independently, simplifying design and analysis when interdependencies are weak or can be neglected.

In everyday and scientific usage, uncoupled generally means not connected or not interacting. The exact meaning depends on the domain, and the term is often contrasted with “coupled” to emphasize interdependence.