Macroscopic

Macroscopic

Macroscopic is commonly used to describe physical objects that are measurable and observable by the naked eye. When applied to phenomena and abstract objects, it describes existence in the world as we perceive it. Lengths scales generally considered macroscopic roughly fall in the range 1 mm–1 km.

The term "macroscopic" may also refer to a "larger view", namely a view only available from a large perspective. A macroscopic position could be considered the "big picture".

A macroscopic view of a ball is just that: a ball. A microscopic view could reveal a thick round skin seemingly composed entirely of puckered cracks and fissures (as viewed through a microscope) or, further down in scale, a collection of molecules in the rough shape of a sphere.

Macroscopy in physics

In physics, macroscopy can be a physical trait applied relative to what one is observing. If one looks at a galaxy, a star is a microscopic entity, even if it is many, many orders of magnitude larger than us.

See also

* Length
* Length scale
* Microscopic


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  • macroscopic — MACROSCÓPIC, Ă, macroscopici, ce, adj. Care se referă la cercetările făcute cu ochiul liber; care se poate vedea cu ochiul liber. – Din fr. macroscopique. Trimis de claudia, 14.09.2003. Sursa: DEX 98  Macroscopic ≠ microscopic Trimis de siveco,… …   Dicționar Român

  • Macroscopic — Mac ro*scop ic, Macroscopical Mac ro*scop ic*al, a. [Macro + Gr. ? to view.] Visible to the unassisted eye; as opposed to {microscopic}. {Mac ro*scop ic*al*ly}, adv. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • macroscopic — index perceivable, perceptible Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • macroscopic — (adj.) 1872, from MACRO (Cf. macro ) + ending from MICROSCOPIC (Cf. microscopic). Related: Macroscopical; macroscopically …   Etymology dictionary

  • macroscopic — ► ADJECTIVE 1) visible to the naked eye; not microscopic. 2) relating to large scale or general analysis …   English terms dictionary

  • macroscopic — [mak΄rō skäp′i kəlmak΄rō skäp′ik] adj. [ MACRO + SCOP(E) + IC] 1. visible to the naked eye: opposed to MICROSCOPIC 2. having to do with large groups or units: Also macroscopical [mak΄rō skäp′i kəl] …   English World dictionary

  • Macroscopic — Large enough to be seen with naked eye, as opposed to microscopic. A big tumor may well be macroscopic while a tiny tumor is microscopic (cannot be seen without the aid of microscope). * * * 1. Of a size visible with the naked eye or without the… …   Medical dictionary

  • Macroscopic stress — Macroscopic stress. См. Макроскопическое напряжение. (Источник: «Металлы и сплавы. Справочник.» Под редакцией Ю.П. Солнцева; НПО Профессионал , НПО Мир и семья ; Санкт Петербург, 2003 г.) …   Словарь металлургических терминов

  • Macroscopic quantum state — A macroscopic quantum state is a state of matter in which macroscopic properties, such as thermal conductivity and viscosity, are governed by quantum mechanics as opposed to classical mechanics. This occurs primarily at low temperatures where… …   Wikipedia

  • Macroscopic Quantum Self Trapping — While the tunneling of a particle through classically forbidden barriers can be described by the particle s wave function, the wave function is merely a probability of tunneling. Although various factors can increase the or decrease the… …   Wikipedia

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