Macroscopic
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
mmâ€"1
km.
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".
* 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.
In physics, macroscopy 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.
*
Length*
Length scale*
Microscopic
