pointlike mass

8.6

A mass with no size that physicists treat as if at a single point

noun

Specialized

: masa puntual

In classical mechanics, a pointlike mass is often used to simplify the analysis of motion.

Examples

A pointlike mass simplifies many physics problems.
The gravitational field of a pointlike mass is described by Newton's law of universal gravitation.
When modeling planets as pointlike masses, their actual size is ignored for most calculations.
In classical mechanics, a pointlike mass is often assumed.
In physics, we often model the planet as a pointlike mass to simplify gravitational calculations.
The teacher explained that a pointlike mass can represent an object with weight but no physical size.
When analyzing the motion, scientists treated the electron as a pointlike mass to make the equations easier to solve.

Synonyms

point mass

vspointlike mass

Specialized

1 7.9

An object with mass but no size used to make physics problems easier

is the same concept but uses a descriptive '-like' phrasing instead of the short name

Surface Forms

pointlike mass singular

pointlike masses plural

Morphology

pointlike + mass

The meaning is directly compositional: 'pointlike' (literally 'like a point') combined with 'mass' (amount of matter) yields an object that has mass but negligible spatial extent. Though technical, the adjective+noun structure and the '-like' formation are transparent and cross-linguistically regular, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents can infer the meaning.

Etymology

The term pointlike mass comes from the simple image of a heavy object that is just a tiny point with all its mass in one spot. Because of that picture, physicists say it has 'no size' and use it to make problems and 'calculations' much easier.