An example of a point mass graphed on a grid. The grey mass can be simplified to a point mass (the black circle). Circles are simple Shapes of Euclidean geometry consisting of those points in a plane which are at a constant Distance, called the It becomes practical to represent point mass as small circle, or dot, as an actual point is invisible. Circles are simple Shapes of Euclidean geometry consisting of those points in a plane which are at a constant Distance, called the In Geometry, Topology and related branches of mathematics a spatial point describes a specific point within a given space that consists of neither Volume

Point mass is an idealistic term used to describe either matter which is infinitely small, or an object which can be thought of as infinitely small. In Western civilization, Idealism is the philosophy which maintains that the Ultimate nature of reality is ideal or based upon ideas values essences The so-called Matter is commonly defined as being anything that has mass and that takes up space. This concept in terms of size is similar to that of point particles, however unlike point particles the object need only be considered infinitely small. A point particle (or point-like, often spelled pointlike) is an idealized object heavily used in Physics.

Application

Physics

The concept of point mass has applications in both mathematics and physics. Mathematics is the body of Knowledge and Academic discipline that studies such concepts as Quantity, Structure, Space and Physics (Greek Physis - φύσις in everyday terms is the Science of Matter and its motion. A common use for point mass lays in the consideration of the gravitational force fields. Gravitation is a natural Phenomenon by which objects with Mass attract one another When analyzing the gravitational forces in a system, it becomes impossible to account for every unit of mass individually. Mass is a fundamental concept in Physics, roughly corresponding to the Intuitive idea of how much Matter there is in an object When none of the object's circumferences from the center of mass overlap, it becomes possible to think of the center of mass containing all of the mass of the object.

Mathematics

A point mass in statistics is a discontinuous segment in a probability distribution. Statistics is a mathematical science pertaining to the collection analysis interpretation or explanation and presentation of Data. In Probability theory and Statistics, a probability distribution identifies either the probability of each value of an unidentified Random variable To calculate such point mass, an integration is carried out over the entire range of the random variable, on the probability distribution of the continuous part. The European Space Agency 's INTErnational Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory ( INTEGRAL) is detecting some of the most energetic radiation that comes from space A random variable is a rigorously defined mathematical entity used mainly to describe Chance and Probability in a mathematical way After equating this integral to 1, the point mass can be found by further calculation.

See also

• Point particle
• Point charge
• Pendulum
• Kinematics
• Position vector
• Random variable
• Shell theorem