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"A model (in physics) is a representation of structure in a physical system and/or its properties." A closely
A closely related concept is that of a system - the portion of the physical or mental universe described by the model, thereby creating internal and external regions.
A physics model will generally model only some of the structure in a physical system, for example the engine of a car can be regarded as a "heat engine" to turn heat into mechanical energy (work), or as the "powerplant" - a source of a certain amount of power that can accelerate the car. The particularization of the model therefore relies critically on the selection of which
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Characteristics of Models: *Proposed Model Specification:*Types of Models:
Name: Each model must have a name
Verbal Description: A sentence or two
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And may be a special case (e.g. F=ma)
A useful model fits many real situations to a good approximation. Some useful models used by physicists to think about the physical include: motion with constant acceleration, the harmonic oscillator, the two level quantum system, Feynman diagrams and the Schwartzschield metric (which applies the law of General Relatively to find the warping of space-time due to a central sphere of matter). A list of models of mechanics is available.
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