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. A Superconductor demonstrating the Meissner Effect Physics (from the Greek, φυσικός (physikos), natural, and φύσις (physis), nature) is the science of the natural world dealing with the fundamental constituents of the universe, the forces they exert on one another, and the results produced by these forces. ... Various meters In classical physics and engineering, measurement generally refers to the process of estimating or determining the ratio of a magnitude of a quantitative property or relation to a unit of the same type of quantitative property or relation. ... Observation is an activity of an intelligent living being, to sense and assimiliate the knowledge of a phenomenon in its framework of previous knowledge and ideas. ... A naked eye is a figure of speech, referring to human eyes unaided by enhancing equipment such as a telescope or binoculars. ... A millimetre (American spelling: millimeter), symbol mm is an SI unit of length that is equal to one thousandth of a metre. ... A kilometer (Commonwealth spelling: kilometre), symbol: km is a unit of length in the metric system equal to 1,000 metres (from the Greek words χίλια (khilia) = thousand and μέτρο (metro) = count/measure). ...

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".

Examples

• 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.

A ball is a round or spherical object that is used most often in sports and games. ... A microscope (Greek: micron = small and scopos = aim) is an instrument for viewing objects that are too small to be seen by the naked or unaided eye. ... It has been suggested that microscopy be merged into this article or section. ... In general, a molecule is the smallest particle of a pure chemical substance that still retains its composition and chemical properties. ... A sphere is a perfectly symmetrical geometrical object. ...

Macroscopy in physics

In physics, macroscopy is 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. NGC 4414, a typical spiral galaxy in the constellation Coma Berenices, is about 56,000 light years in diameter and approximately 60 million light years distant. ... STAR is an acronym for: Scientific and Technological Advanced Research Labs, a fictional research organization in the DC Comics universe. ... An order of magnitude is the class of scale or magnitude of any amount, where each class contains values of a fixed ratio to the class preceding it. ...

See also

• Length
• Length scale
• Microscopic