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physical phenomenon

physical phenomenon

3 4.4
A natural event that involves matter and energy and can be seen or measured
  • noun
  • /ˈfɪzɪkəl ˌfɛnəˈmɛnən/
  • Specialized
: fenómeno físico
  • Other applications, however, are challenging limits both of device performance and of our knowledge of the physical phenomena governing reliability.
  • understand physical phenomena
  • analyze physical phenomena
  • variety of physical phenomena

So in other words, I'm asking the question, can we view intelligence as a physical phenomenon?

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Examples

  • The aurora borealis is a spectacular physical phenomenon that lights up the Arctic sky.

  • Their book encourages students to get direct experience with physical phenomena.

    Academic text (1996)
  • Then what we saw tonight was a physical phenomenon.

  • Music is indeed a physical phenomenon; without the presence of sound, music simply would not exist.

    Academic text (2001)
  • Novel physical phenomena may yet emerge with detailed study and the development of new techniques.

    Academic text (1998)
  • Real-world physical phenomena are sampled and converted into digital numeric values that can be processed by a computer.

    Academic text (2014)
  • Software that analyzes multiple physical phenomena like fluid flow and electrostatics helps mechanical and electrical engineers collaborate with greater ease.

    Academic text (2003)
  • Engineers use analysis software to simulate a variety of physical phenomena, such as nonlinear geometric or material simulations.

    Academic text (2001)
  • During the experiment, we observed several interesting physical phenomena that illustrated the principles of motion.

  • The documentary explained various physical phenomena, including earthquakes and their effects on buildings.

Synonyms

natural phenomenon
vsphysical phenomenon
14 3.7

An event in nature not caused by people

focuses on events explained by matter and energy properties rather than human cause

How Common

widespread
232 3.6
common sight
4 1.0
physical phenomenon
  • Specialized
3 4.4
occasional
257 2.8
rare
944 4.1

Surface Forms

Morphology

physical + phenomenon

The meaning is directly compositional: 'phenomenon' = an observable event and 'physical' = relating to matter/energy, so the phrase denotes an observable event involving physical properties. This is a straightforward noun phrase pattern that is cross-linguistically common and should be predictable to a B1 learner who knows both constituents.

Etymology

Physical phenomenon comes from two words: physical meaning things of matter or energy you can see or measure, and phenomenon meaning something that appears or happens. Think of a rainbow or thunder, events you can observe in nature that happen because of light, water, or air. That's why the phrase means 'a natural event you can see or measure'.