particle
Sign in to savethumb|upright=1|Arc welding|Arc welders need to protect themselves from welding sparks, which are heated metal particles that fly off the welding surface
AI overview
A particle is a tiny piece of matter, such as the heated metal fragments that fly off during welding. Understanding particles matters because they can pose safety hazards—for example, welding sparks are particles that can burn skin, which is why welders need protective equipment.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Article
16 sectionsContents
- Physics
- In models
- Size
- Particle physics
- Mass
- Composition
- Stability
- Statistical mechanics
- Astrophysics
- ''N''-body simulation
- Atmospheric science
- Soil science
- Distribution of particles
- See also
- References
- Further reading
thumb|upright=1|Arc welding|Arc welders need to protect themselves from welding sparks, which are heated metal particles that fly off the welding surface
In the physical sciences, a particle (or corpuscle in older texts) is a separate part of a larger system. Depending on the system they vary greatly in size or quantity, from subatomic particles like the electron, to microscopic particles like atoms and molecules, to macroscopic particles like powders and other granular materials. Particles can also be used to create scientific models of large objects within very large systems, such as humans moving in a crowd, celestial bodies in orbit, or galaxies in the expansion of the universe.