Scale (physics)
| Examples of scales in geography and metereology | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Scale | Length | Area | Description |
| Micro | 1 m – 1 km | 1 m2 – 1 km2 | local |
| Meso | 1 km - 100 km | 1 km2 - 10,000 km2 | regional |
| Macro | 100 km - 10,000 km | 10,000 km2 - 100,000,000 km2 | continental |
| Mega | > 10,000 km | > 100,000,000 km2 | global |
In sciences such as physics, geography, astronomy, meteorology and statistics, the term scale or spatial scale is used for describing or classifying with large approximation the extent or size of a length, distance, or area studied or described. For instance, in physics an object or phenomenon can be called microscopic if too small to be visible. In climatology, a micro-climate is a climate which might occur in a mountain, valley, or near a lake shore, whereas in statistics a megatrend is a political, social, economical, environmental, or technological trend which involves the whole planet or is supposed to last a very large amount of time.
In physics, the concept of scale is closely related to the more accurate concept of order of magnitude.
These divisions are somewhat arbitrary; where, on this table, mega- is assigned global scope, it may only apply continentally or even regionally in other contexts. The interpretations of meso- and macro- must then be adjusted accordingly.
See also
- Astronomical units of length
- Cosmic distance ladder
- Orders of magnitude (length)
External links
- A sense of scale by Paul Falstad – visual depictions of the relative scale of various distances, ranging from the Planck length to the furthest known object in the Universe.