physical process
5
4.0
- noun
- /ˈfɪzɪkəl ˈprɑːsɛs/
- Specialized
- The formation of rainbows is a beautiful physical process that occurs when sunlight passes through raindrops.
- chemical and physical processes
- understand the physical processes
- physical processes taking place
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Watch on YouTubeYou're proposing a new physical process and don't even explain how that process works.
- You're proposing a new physical process and don't even explain how that process works.
- Crying is also it, it is a physical process.
- What do we mean by a physical process?
- So in other words, something that can be described in terms of physical processes.
- And I'm going to come back to why or how we interpret them, what the physical processes are in the last part of my talk.
- There are some wild theories out there saying that civilization might be so advanced that you cannot distinguish them from physical processes.
- And clearly Vilaeus thinks that this allegorizing is not a useful strategy for making sense of physical processes.
- We have to limit mathematics ultimately by what the physical process is.
- But you're actually describing all of these real physical processes, which are just cutting into basically block this from being able to work.
Examples
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Comets typically exhibit a complex variety of physical processes over time and distance.
Academic text (1992) -
Moreover, chaotic systems exist in significant biological contexts—the physical processes governing weather on Earth, for example.
Academic text (2006) -
So there is a physical process that we know happens in nature.
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And no physical process can make you go faster than the speed of light.
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Other students who can hear are not able to coordinate the physical process, especially in the area of breathing.
Academic text (1991) -
The first problem, given in box 3, addresses physical processes at the cellular level.
Academic text (2012) -
Our problem is that because we can't demonstrate a physical process, we cannot be certain that we are right.
Academic text (2015) -
Ultimately, a complete specification of the physical processes within the entire Sun-Earth system will be needed to resolve these issues.
Academic text (2006) -
In the following sections, we look more carefully at some of the crucial physical processes underlying cell motility.
Academic text (2012) -
Some kind of physical process must connect spores resting in lake-bottom or nearshore habitats to offshore hosts.
Academic text (2010)
Synonyms
21
3.2
A change that happens in the world without human help
How Fast
1
8.9
264
1.3
- Specialized
5
4.0
1
5.1
2
3.5
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning of 'physical process' follows directly from combining 'physical' (pertaining to matter and energy) with 'process' (a sequence of changes), so a learner who knows both words can infer it refers to a sequence of changes in the physical world. This compositional pattern is transparent and cross-linguistically common, making it immediately comprehensible to a B1 learner.
Etymology
Physical process comes from two simple ideas: physical means something made of matter or energy, and process means 'a series of steps' or changes over time. So the phrase paints a clear picture of natural, visible change—like ice slowly melting or a river wearing away rock—which is why it means a natural 'series of changes' in matter or energy.