A physical property is any property of matter or energy that can be measured. It is an attribute of matter that can be observed or perceived.
Common Physical Properties
- Absorption of electromagnetic – The way a photon’s energy is taken up by matter
- Absorption (physical) – Absorption between two forms of matter
- Albedo – Reflecting power of a surface
- Angular momentum – The amount of rotation of an object
- Area – Amount of a two dimensional surface in a plane
- Brittleness – Tendency of a material to break under stress
- Boiling point – Temperature where a liquid forms vapor
- Capacitance – Ability of an object to store an electrical charge
- Color – Hue of an object as perceived by humans
- Concentration – Amount of one substance in a mixture
- Density – Mass per unit volume of a substance
- Dielectric constant – Storage and dissipation of electric and magnetic energy
- Ductility – Ability of a substance to be stretched into a wire
- Distribution – Number of particles per unit volume in single-particle phase space
- Efficacy – Capacity to produce an effect
- Elasticity – Tendency of a material to return to its former shape
- Electric charge – Positive or negative electric charge of matter
- Electrical conductivity – A material’s ability to conduct electricity
- Electrical impedance – Ratio of voltage to AC
- Electrical resistivity – How strongly a flow of electric current is opposed
- Electric field – Made by electrically charged particles and time-varying magnetic fields.
- Electric potential – Potential energy of a charged particle divided by the charge
- Emission – Spectrum of frequencies of electromagnetic radiation emitted
- Flexibility – Pliability
- Flow rate – Amount of fluid which passes through a surface per unit time.
- Fluidity – Flows easily
- Freezing point – Temperature where a liquid solidifies
- Frequency – Number of repetitions in a given time frame
- Hardness – How resistant solid matter is to external force
- Inductance – When the current changes, the conductor creates voltage
- Intrinsic impedance – Ratio of electric and magnetic fields in an electromagnetic wave
- Intensity – Power transferred per unit area
- Irradiance – Power of electromagnetic radiation per unit area
- Length – Longest dimension of an object
- Location – Place where something exists
- Luminance – Amount of light that passes through a given area
- Luminescence – Emission of light not resulting from heat
- Luster – The way light interacts with the surface of a crystal, mineral or rock
- Malleability – Ability to form a thin sheet by hammering or rolling a material
- Magnetic moment – Force that the magnet exerts on electric currents and the torque that a magnetic field exerts on it
- Mass – An object’s resistance to being accelerated
- Melting point – Temperature where a solid changes to a liquid
- Momentum – Product of the mass and velocity of an object
- Permeability – Ability of a material to support a magnetic field
- Smell – Scent or odor of a substance
- Solubility – Ability of a substance to dissolve
- Specific heat – Heat capacity per unit mass of a material
- Temperature – Numerical measure of heat and cold
- Thermal conductivity – Property of a material to conduct heat
- Velocity – Rate of change in the position of an object
- Viscosity – Resistance to deformation by stress
- Volume – Space that a substance occupies
Now you have seen many different examples of physical properties. Remember, what all they have in common is that they can be measured.
