physical property
Sign in to saveAlso known as physical property (chemistry), non-chemical property of a material, physical property (of system), physical property (of object), property of a material (non-chemical), physical (non-chemical) property of a material, system property (physics), property (physics)
attribute of a physical system or body; OR non-chemical property of a material
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A physical property is any property of a physical system that is measurable. The changes in the physical properties of a system can be used to describe its changes between momentary states. A quantifiable physical property is called physical quantity. Measurable physical quantities are often referred to as observables. Some physical properties are qualitative, such as shininess, brittleness, etc.; some general qualitative properties admit more specific related quantitative properties, such as in opacity, hardness, ductility, viscosity, etc.
Physical properties are often characterized as intensive and extensive properties. An intensive property does not depend on the size or extent of the system, nor on the amount of matter in the object, while an extensive property shows an additive relationship. These classifications are in general only valid in cases when smaller subdivisions of the sample do not interact in some physical or chemical process when combined.