Physical object

Uncommon card · No. 141390

In natural language and physical science, a physical object or material object (or simply an object or body) is a collection of matter, usually contiguous, with a defined boundary, that exists in space and time. It is usually contrasted with abstract objects and mental objects. Also in common usage, an object is not constrained to consist of the same collection of matter. Atoms or parts of an object may change over time. An object is usually meant to be defined by the simplest representation of the boundary consistent with the observations. However the laws of physics only apply directly to objects that consist of the same collection of matter. In physics, an object is an identifiable collection of matter, which may be constrained by an identifiable boundary, and may move as a unit by translation or rotation, in 3-dimensional space. Each object has a unique identity, independent of any other properties. Two objects may be identical, in all properties except position, but still remain distinguishable...

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