Model (physical)

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Model (physical)

A physical model is a smaller or larger physical copy of an object.

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Models of Battle At Australian War Memorial Museum

A physical model is a smaller or larger physical copy of an object. The object being modelled may be small (for example, an atom) or large (for example, the Solar System

Solar System

The Solar System consists of the Sun and those Astronomical object bound to it by gravity: the eight planets and five dwarf planets, their 173 known Natural satellite, and billions of Small Solar System body....
).

The geometry of the model and the object it represents are often similar in the sense that one is a rescaling of the other; in such cases the scale is an important characteristic. However, in many cases the similarity is only approximate or even intentionally distorted. Sometimes the distortion

Distortion

A distortion is the alteration of the original shape of an object, image, sound, waveform or other form of information or representation. Distortion is usually unwanted....
is systematic with e.g. a fixed scale horizontally and a larger fixed scale vertically when modelling topography

Topography

Topography is the study of Earth's surface shape and features or those ofplanets, Natural satellite, and asteroids. It is also the description of such surface shapes and features ....
of a large area (as opposed to a model of a smaller mountain region, which may well use the same scale horizontally and vertically, and show the true slope

Slope

Slope is used to describe the steepness, incline, gradient, or grade of a line . A higher slope value indicates a steeper incline. The slope is defined as the ratio of the "rise" divided by the "run" between two points on a line, or in other words, the ratio of the altitude change to the horizontal distance between any two point...
s).

Physical models allow visualization, from examining the model, of information about the thing the model represents. A model can be a physical object such as an architectural model of a building. Uses of an architectural model include visualization of internal relationships within the structure or external relationships of the structure to the environment. Other uses of models in this sense are as toy

Toy

A toy is an object used in Play . Toys are usually associated with children and pets, but it is not unusual for adult humans and some non-Domesticationated animals to play with toys....
s.

Instrumented physical models are the most effective way of investigating fluid flows such as around hydraulic structures

Hydraulic engineering

Hydraulic engineering is a sub-discipline of civil engineering concerned with the flow and conveyance of fluids, principally water. This area of engineering is intimately related to the design of bridges, dams, Channel s, canals, levees, elevators, and to both sanitary and environmental engineering....
. These models are scaled in terms of both geometry and important forces, for example using Froude number

Froude number

The Froude number is a dimensionless number comparing inertial and gravitational forces. It may be used to quantify the resistance of an object moving through water, and compare objects of different sizes....
or Reynolds number

Reynolds number

In fluid mechanics and heat transfer, the Reynolds number is a dimensionless number that gives a measure of the ratio of inertial forces to viscosity forces and, consequently, it quantifies the relative importance of these two types of forces for given flow conditions....
scaling (see Similitude

Similitude (model)

Similitude is a concept used in the testing of engineering model . A model is said to have similitude with the real application if the two share geometric similarity, kinematic similarity and dynamic similarity....
).

A physical model of something large is usually smaller, and of something very small is larger. A physical model of something that can move, like a vehicle

Vehicle

Vehicles, derived from the Latin word, vehiculum, are non-living means of transport. Most often they are manufactured , although some other means of transport which are not made by humans also may be called vehicles; examples include icebergs and floating tree trunks....
or machine

Machine

A machine is any device that uses energy to perform some activity. In common usage, the meaning is that of a device having parts that perform or assist in performing any type of work....
, may be completely static, or have parts that can be moved manually, or be powered. A physical model may show inner parts that are normally not visible. The purpose of a physical model on a smaller scale may be to have a better overview, for testing purposes, as hobby

Hobby

A hobby is a leisure recreational pursuit....
or toy

Toy

A toy is an object used in Play . Toys are usually associated with children and pets, but it is not unusual for adult humans and some non-Domesticationated animals to play with toys....
. The purpose of a physical model on a larger scale may be to see the structure of things that are normally too small to see properly or to see at all, for example a model of an insect

Insect

Insects are the biggest class of arthropods and the only ones with wings. They are the most diverse group of animals on the planet. They are most diverse at the equator and their diversity declines toward the poles....
or of a molecule

Molecule

In chemistry, a molecule is defined as a sufficiently stable, electric charge neutral group of at least two atoms in a definite arrangement held together by very strong chemical bonds....
.

A physical model of an animal

Animal

Animals are a major group of multicellular, eukaryotic organisms of the Kingdom Animalia or Metazoa. Their body plan eventually becomes fixed as they develop, although some undergo a process of metamorphosis later on in their life....
shows the animals physical composition without it walking or flying away, and without danger, and if the real animal is not available. A soft model of an animal is popular among children and some adults as cuddly toy.

A model of a person

Person

The term person in common usage means an individual human being. In the fields of law, philosophy, medicine, and others, the term also has specialised context-specific meanings....
may e.g. be a doll

Doll

A doll is an object that represents a baby or other human being, but includes likenesses of animals and imaginary creatures. Dolls have been around since the dawn of human civilization, and have been fashioned from a vast array of materials, ranging from stone, clay, wood, bone, cloth and paper, to porcelain, china, rubber and plastic....
, a statue

Statue

A statue is a sculpture in the round representing a person or persons, an animal, or an event, normally full-length, as opposed to a Bust , and at least close to life-size, or larger....
, and in fiction a robot

Robot

A robot is a virtual or mechanical artificial agent. In practice, it is usually an Electromechanics which, by its appearance or movements, conveys a sense that it has Intention or Agency of its own....
ic humanoid

Humanoid

A humanoid is a hybrid term formed from Latin humanus "human" and the Greek :wikt:-oid expressing likeness. The term was coined in 1918 to refer to fossils considered close to human but not strictly human, including species now classified as Homo such as the Neanderthals....
, e.g. the mechas in the movie A.I..

A model is a 3D

Three-dimensional space

Three-dimensional space is a geometric model of the physical universe in which we live. The three dimensions are commonly called length, width, and depth , although any three mutually perpendicular directions can serve as the three dimensions....
alternative for a 2D representation such as a drawing

Drawing

Drawing is a visual art that makes use of any number of drawing instruments to mark a two-dimensional medium. Common instruments include graphite pencils, pen and ink, inked brushes, wax color pencils, crayons, charcoals, chalk, pastels, marker pens, stylus, or various metals like silverpoint....
or photograph

Photograph

A photograph is an created by light falling on a light-sensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic imager such as a Charge-coupled device or a Complementary metal?oxide?semiconductor chip....
, or in the case of a globe

Globe

A globe is a three-dimensional scale Model of Earth or other spheroid celestial body such as a planet, star, or moon. It may also refer to a spherical representation of the celestial sphere, showing the apparent positions of the stars in the sky ...
, a 3D, undistorted alternative for a flat world map

Map

A map is a visual representation of an area?a symbolic depiction highlighting relationships between elements of that space such as Object , regions, and topic-comment....
.

Model (physical)

See also

Physical models