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A bubble of exhaled gas in water
In common usage and classical mechanics, a physical object or physical body (or simply an object or body) is a collection of matter within a defined contiguous boundary in three-dimensional space.[citation needed] The boundary surface must be defined and identified by the properties of the material, although it may change over time. The boundary is usually the visible or tangible surface of the object. The matter in the object is constrained (to a greater or lesser degree) to move as one object. The boundary may move in space relative to other objects that it is not attached to (through translation and rotation). An object's boundary may also deform and change over time in other ways.
Also in common usage, an object is not constrained to consist of the same collection of matter. Atoms or parts of an object may change over time. An object is usually meant to be defined by the simplest representation of the boundary consistent with the observations. However the laws of physics only apply directly to objects that consist of the same collection of matter.
In physics, an object is an identifiable collection of matter, which may be constrained by an identifiable boundary, and may move as a unit by translation or rotation, in 3-dimensional space.
Each object has a unique identity, independent of any other properties. Two objects may be identical, in all properties except position, but still remain distinguishable. In most cases the boundaries of two objects may not overlap at any point in time. The property of identity allows objects to be counted.
Examples of models of physical bodies include, but are not limited to a particle, several interacting smaller bodies (particulate or otherwise), and continuous media.
The common conception of physical objects includes that they have extension in the physical world, although there do exist theories of quantum physics and cosmology which arguably challenge[how?] this. In modern physics, "extension" is understood in terms of the spacetime: roughly speaking, it means that for a given moment of time the body has some location in the space (although not necessarily amounting to the abstraction of a point in space and time). A physical body as a whole is assumed to have such quantitative properties as mass, momentum, electric charge, other conserved quantities, and possibly other quantities.
An object with known composition and described in an adequate physical theory is an example of physical system.
In common usage and classical mechanics, a physicalobject or physical body (or simply an object or body) is a collection of matter within a defined contiguous...
Section, §Types of Materialist Theory Markosian 2009, pp. 486–487, PhysicalObject Kim 2006, § 1. Introduction Addis 2013, pp. 49–50 Searle 2004, p. 183...
physical entities, although they may consist of a large ontological object and a causally complex structure. According to a 2009 survey, physicalism is...
objective Object (grammar), a sentence element, such as a direct object or an indirect object 3D model, a representation of a physicalobjectObject (computer...
interaction with physical world objects but also to interaction with virtual (computing environment) objects. A smart physicalobject may be created either...
reality, in space and time. Its ontological status is that it is a physicalobject. The art is concretely realized but may be abstract in nature. For...
Look up object lesson in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. An object lesson is a teaching method that consists of using a physicalobject or visual aid...
An astronomical object, celestial object, stellar object or heavenly body is a naturally occurring physical entity, association, or structure that exists...
is the outermost or uppermost layer of a physicalobject or space. It is the portion or region of the object that can first be perceived by an observer...
Damage is any change in a thing, often a physicalobject, that degrades it away from its initial state. It can broadly be defined as "changes introduced...
elementary charge e. Physical constants can take many dimensional forms: the speed of light signifies a maximum speed for any object and its dimension is...
three distinct parts: the physicalobject or process and its physical environment, the digital representation of the object or process, and the communication...
childhood development, the term transitional object is normally used. It is something, usually a physicalobject, which takes the place of the mother-child...
Physical strength is the measure of an individual's exertion of force on physicalobjects. Increasing physical strength is the goal of strength training...
main parts: physicalobject, virtual or digital object and data that provide the connection between the physical and the digital. The physical collects and...
A physical system is a collection of physicalobjects under study. The collection differs from a set: all the objects must coexist and have some physical...
to extend the Internet to the physical world by attaching tags with URLs to tangible objects or locations. These object tags can then be read by a wireless...
This is similar to the way in which objects are supervenient on atomic structure. A cup might have the physical properties of mass, shape, color, temperature...
relationship with other, spacetime coordinates, symbolic or alpha-numeric, a physicalobject, or an energy projection. In some cases, methods are used that intentionally...
ontological category in metaphysics, populated by nonmaterial mental objects, without physical extension (though possibly with mental extension as in a visual...
when princes ruled as the embodiment of extended power'. The way that physicalobjects, like rocks and trees, have being differs from the way that properties...
to an abstract or physicalobject, such as a person, situation, or message whereby one is able to use concepts to model that object. Understanding is...
a discipline, is traditionally the academic study of books as physical, cultural objects; in this sense, it is also known as bibliology (from Ancient Greek:...
bouquet", and "life". The symbol often appeared in Egyptian art as a physicalobject representing either life or related substances such as air or water...
In astronomy, the term compact object (or compact star) refers collectively to white dwarfs, neutron stars, and black holes. It could also include exotic...
function [citation needed]), or PUF, is a physicalobject whose operation cannot be reproduced ("cloned") in physical way (by making another system using the...
result which guides reaction, or an end, which is an object, either a physicalobject or an abstract object, that has intrinsic value. Goal-setting theory was...
graphical symbol that conveys meaning through its visual resemblance to a physicalobject. Pictograms are used in systems of writing and visual communication...
design by giving physical forms to digital information, thus taking advantage of the human ability to grasp and manipulate physicalobjects and materials...