In the physical sciences, a particle is a small localized object to which can be ascribed several physical properties such as volume or mass. The word is rather general in meaning, and is refined as needed by various scientific fields. Something that is composed of particles may be referred to as particulate, although this term is generally used to refer to a suspension of unconnected particles, rather than a connected particle aggregation.
Whether objects can be considered particles depends on the scale of the context; if an object's own size is small or negligible, or if geometrical properties and structure are irrelevant, then it can be considered a particle. For example, grains of sand on a beach can be considered particles because the size of one grain of sand (~1 mm) is negligible compared to the beach, and the features of individual grains of sand are usually irrelevant to the problem at hand. However, grains of sand would not be considered particles if compared to buckyballs (~1 nm).
Read more about Particle: Conceptual Properties, N-body Simulation, Distribution of Particles
Famous quotes containing the word particle:
“Standing on the bare ground,—my head bathed by the blithe air, and uplifted into infinite space,—all mean egotism vanishes. I become a transparent eye-ball; I am nothing; I see all; the currents of the Universal Being circulate through me; I am part and particle of God.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“Each particle is a microcosm, and faithfully renders the likeness of the world.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“You don’t hold any mystery for me, darling, do you mind? There isn’t a particle of you that I don’t know, remember, and want.”
—Noël Coward (1899–1973)