macroscopic properties

Examples of macroscopic properties in the following topics:

• Kinetic Molecular Theory and Gas Laws

  • Kinetic Molecular Theory explains the macroscopic properties of gases and can be used to understand and explain the gas laws.
  • The Kinetic Molecular Theory of Gases comes from observations that scientists made about gases to explain their macroscopic properties.
  • Uses the kinetic theory of gases to explain properties of gases (expandability, compressibility, etc. )

• Ionic vs Covalent Bond Character

  • Though ionic and covalent character represent points along a continuum, these designations are frequently useful in understanding and comparing the macroscopic properties of ionic and covalent compounds.

• Overview of Temperature and Kinetic Theory

  • Kinetic theory explains macroscopic properties of gases (such as pressure, temperature, and volume) by considering their molecular composition and motion.

• Microstates and Entropy

  • The interpretation of entropy is the measure of uncertainty, which remains about a system after its observable macroscopic properties, such as temperature, pressure, and volume, have been taken into account.
  • For a given set of macroscopic variables, the entropy measures the degree to which the probability of the system is spread out over different possible microstates.

• Atomic Theory of Matter

  • Atoms of a given element are identical in size, mass, and other properties; atoms of different elements differ in size, mass, and other properties.
  • Atoms can be broken down into smaller pieces, and atoms of a given element can vary in mass and other properties (see isotopes and ions).
  • Knowing that a gas is composed of small atomic and molecular particles, it is natural to try to explain properties of the gas from a microscopic point of view.
  • This effort led to the development of the kinetic theory of gases, where macroscopic properties of gases, such as pressure, temperature, and volume, are explained by considering their molecular composition and motion.

• Introduction to Bonding

  • These atomic properties help describe the macroscopic properties of compounds.

• Origin of Pressure

  • This is a first non-trivial result of the kinetic theory because it relates pressure (a macroscopic property) to the average (translational) kinetic energy per molecule which is a microscopic property.

• Physics and Other Fields

  • On the microscopic level, it helps describe the properties of cell walls and cell membranes.
  • On the macroscopic level, it can explain the heat, work, and power associated with the human body.

• Ferromagnetism

  • Ferromagnetism is the property of certain materials that enables them to form magnets and be attracted to magnets.
  • Ferromagnetism arises from the fundamental property of an electron; it also carries charge to have a dipole moment.
  • This dipole moment comes from the more fundamental property of the electron—its quantum mechanical spin.
  • When these tiny magnetic dipoles are aligned in the same direction, their individual magnetic fields combine to create a measurable macroscopic field.

• Overview of Heat

  • The transferred heat is measured by changes in a body of known properties, for example, temperature rise, change in volume or length, or phase change, such as melting of ice.
  • Conduction is heat transfer through stationary matter by physical contact. ( The matter is stationary on a macroscopic scale—we know there is thermal motion of the atoms and molecules at any temperature above absolute zero. ) Heat transferred between the electric burner of a stove and the bottom of a pan is transferred by conduction.
  • Convection is the heat transfer by the macroscopic movement of a fluid.