Jmdonev: 1 revision imported

2026-06-04T17:16:57Z

1 revision imported

← Older revision	Revision as of 17:16, 4 June 2026
(No difference)

Energy>Jmdonev at 22:07, 21 May 2026

2026-05-21T22:07:55Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 22:07, 21 May 2026
Line 1:		Line 1:
	[[Category:Done ~~2015~~-09-05]]		[[Category:Done 2026-06-01]]
	''The word particle sometimes refers to the pollution type: [[particulate matter]].''		''The word particle sometimes refers to the pollution type: [[particulate matter]].''

	<~~onlyinclude~~>A '''~~particle~~'~~'' an object that is treated as if it has no internal structure~~. ~~As Knight says "An object that can be treated as a point mass is a particle~~."</~~onlyinclude><~~ref ~~name=Knight/~~>		[[File:Mxcpcrossbow-elastic-potential.gif\|200px\|framed\|Figure 1. Elastic potential energy stored by a spring.<ref>Wilson, Tracy. (2014, Aug. 14). ''How Crossbows Work'' [Online]. Available: http://science.howstuffworks.com/crossbow2.htm</ref>]]

	A particle ~~is almost always small. What~~ '~~small~~' ~~means depends on the context, but usually it means~~ that it is ~~small enough that~~ it can be treated as a ~~point~~ mass.<ref name=Knight>R. D. Knight, "Concepts of motion" in ''Physics for Scientists and Engineers: A Strategic Approach,'' 3nd ed. San Francisco, U.S.A.: Pearson Addison-Wesley, 2008, ch.1, sec.2, pp. 5</ref> [[~~Particulate matter~~]] is ~~often~~ treated as a ~~collection of particles~~, ~~because the specific shape~~, ~~colour and even chemical makeup aren't~~ as ~~important as the plain size and mass~~.		<onlyinclude>A '''particle''' is an object that is treated as if it has no internal structure. Particles can be treated as point masses. A point mass is a dimensionless object with mass or an object with a single position.</onlyinclude><ref name="Knight">R. D. Knight, "Concepts of motion" in ''Physics for Scientists and Engineers: A Strategic Approach,'' 3nd ed. San Francisco, U.S.A.: Pearson Addison-Wesley, 2008, ch.1, sec.2, pp. 5</ref> Treating objects as particles makes it easier to demonstrate how [[force]]s act on the object. This approximation also makes calculating [[kinetic energy]] and [[potential energy]] easier. Objects can not be treated as a particle if their structure is important. For example, as seen in Figure 1, the spring has [[elastic potential energy]] associated with deformation: so it can not be treated as a particle because its internal structure matters. Objects that have structure that can be ignored, like a ball being thrown, can be treated as a particle.

	Particulate matter is ~~usually~~ a few [[micron]]s across~~, but a particle~~ can ~~refer to something even~~ smaller. ~~When scientists talk about~~ [[~~proton]]s and [[neutron]]s, they are also thought of as particles. Getting even smaller, [[photon~~]]s and [[electron]]s are sometimes considered particles, ~~and sometimes~~ considered [[wave]]s. This is one of the strange results of [[quantum mechanics]]. To learn more about particle-wave duality, please see [http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/mod1.html hyperphysics].		[[Particulate matter]] is often treated as a collection of particles because of the importance of its size and mass. Specific shape, colour, and chemical makeup are often overlooked. Most often, particulate matter is only a few [[micron]]s across. Particles can be much smaller. [[Photon]]s and [[electron]]s are sometimes considered particles. While this is true, they can also considered [[wave]]s. This is one of the strange results of [[quantum mechanics]]. To learn more about particle-wave duality, please see [http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/mod1.html hyperphysics].

			[[File:pitching.jpg\|800px\|center\|thumb\|Figure 2. A pitcher exerts a force on a baseball which ''can'' be treated as a particle because the internal structure can usually be ignored.<ref>Wikimedia Commons [Online], Available: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/25/Baseball_pitching_motion_2004.jpg</ref>]]
			==For Further Reading==
			For further information please see the related pages below:
			* [[Quantum mechanics]]
			* [[Atom]]
			* [[Electron]]
			* [[Proton]]
			* Or explore a [[Special:Random\|random page]]
	==References==		==References==
	{{reflist}}		{{reflist}}[[Category:Uploaded]]

J.williams: 1 revision imported

2015-09-03T18:22:27Z

1 revision imported

← Older revision	Revision as of 18:22, 3 September 2015
(No difference)

Jmdonev at 18:36, 28 August 2015

2015-08-28T18:36:03Z

New page

[[Category:Done 2015-09-05]]
''The word particle sometimes refers to the pollution type: [[particulate matter]].''

<onlyinclude>A '''particle''' an object that is treated as if it has no internal structure. As Knight says "An object that can be treated as a point mass is a particle."</onlyinclude><ref name=Knight/>

A particle is almost always small. What 'small' means depends on the context, but usually it means that it is small enough that it can be treated as a point mass.<ref name=Knight>R. D. Knight, "Concepts of motion" in ''Physics for Scientists and Engineers: A Strategic Approach,'' 3nd ed. San Francisco, U.S.A.: Pearson Addison-Wesley, 2008, ch.1, sec.2, pp. 5</ref> [[Particulate matter]] is often treated as a collection of particles, because the specific shape, colour and even chemical makeup aren't as important as the plain size and mass.

Particulate matter is usually a few [[micron]]s across, but a particle can refer to something even smaller. When scientists talk about [[proton]]s and [[neutron]]s, they are also thought of as particles. Getting even smaller, [[photon]]s and [[electron]]s are sometimes considered particles, and sometimes considered [[wave]]s. This is one of the strange results of [[quantum mechanics]]. To learn more about particle-wave duality, please see [http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/mod1.html hyperphysics].

==References==
{{reflist}}

Particle - Revision history

Jmdonev: 1 revision imported

Energy>Jmdonev at 22:07, 21 May 2026

J.williams: 1 revision imported

Jmdonev at 18:36, 28 August 2015