In most cases the term "collapse" is used in medical sources. But in a figurative sense this word gained popularity at designation of destruction of any structure under the influence of system crisis.
In medicine the collapse (from Latin collapse — fallen) characterizes a condition of the patient at sharp falling of arterial blood pressure, a vascular tone owing to which blood supply of vitals worsens. In astronomy there is a term "gravitational collapse" which means hydrodynamic compression of a massive body under the influence of own gravity which leads to strong reduction of its size. "Traffic standstill" is understood as a road jam at which any violation of traffic leads to full blocking of vehicles. On public transport — at full load of one means, the number of the expecting passengers is brought closer to a critical point. Economic collapse is a violation of balance between supply and demand on services and goods, i.e. sharp decrease in an economic condition of the state which appears in recession of economy of production, bankruptcy and violation of the settled production communications. There is a concept "collapse of wave function" which is meant as instant change of the description of a quantum condition of an object. In other words, wave function characterizes the probability of search of a particle in any point or an interval of time, but in attempt to find this particle, it appears in one certain point, as is called collapse. Geometrical collapse is called the change of orientation of an object in space which is essentially changing it geometrical property. For example, collapse of squareness is understood as instant loss of this property. The popular word "collapse" did not leave indifferent and developers of computer games. So, in the game Deus Ex collapse is called the event which is taking place in the 21st century when in society the crisis of the power at very fast development of science was about to happen, creation of revolutionary nanotechnologies and intellectual cybersystems. In 2009 to TV screens there was a movie by the American director K. Smith "Collapse". The movie the teleinterview of Michael Rupert, the author of sensational books and articles, and accused of passion for conspiracy theories is the cornerstone.