Point particle

nounStandard termElectrotechnology

A simplified physical model of an object treated as having mass but zero volume.

A point particle is an idealized representation of matter concentrated at a single mathematical point in space. In physics and electromagnetic theory, treating electrons or other small bodies as point particles allows engineers to calculate forces and trajectories without the complex mathematics required for objects with physical dimensions.

Heard on the job

The simulation treats the free electrons in the vacuum tube as point particles to calculate their acceleration toward the anode.