Size in general is the magnitude or dimensions of a thing. More specifically, geometrical size (or spatial size ) can refer to three geometrical measures : length , area , or volume . Length can be generalized to other linear dimensions (width, height , diameter , perimeter ). Size can also be measured in terms of mass , especially when assuming a density range.
31-424: Yuge is a slang variation of huge , which refers to something with a large size . Yuge may also refer to: Size In mathematical terms, "size is a concept abstracted from the process of measuring by comparing a longer to a shorter". Size is determined by the process of comparing or measuring objects, which results in the determination of the magnitude of a quantity, such as length or mass, relative to
62-444: A Burmese python . Deep-sea gigantism In zoology , deep-sea gigantism or abyssal gigantism is the tendency for species of deep-sea dwelling animals to be larger than their shallower-water relatives across a large taxonomic range. Proposed explanations for this type of gigantism include necessary adaptation to colder temperature, food scarcity, reduced predation pressure and increased dissolved oxygen concentrations in
93-514: A 1 mm mesh), which actually exhibit the reverse trend of decreasing size with depth. In crustaceans, it has been proposed that the explanation for the increase in size with depth is similar to that for the increase in size with latitude ( Bergmann's rule ): both trends involve increasing size with decreasing temperature. The trend with latitude has been observed in some of the same groups, both in comparisons of related species, as well as within widely distributed species. Decreasing temperature
124-450: A gigantic Ostracod . For over 125 years, scientists have contemplated the extreme size of Bathynomus giganteus . – Henry Nottidge Moseley , 1880 Notable organisms that exhibit deep-sea gigantism include the big red jellyfish , Stygiomedusa jellyfish, the giant isopod , giant ostracod , the giant sea spider , the giant amphipod , the Japanese spider crab , the giant oarfish ,
155-469: A similar role in influencing the size of giant tube worms. Riftia pachyptila , which lives in hydrothermal vent communities at ambient temperatures of 2–30 °C, reaches lengths of 2.7 m, comparable to those of Lamellibrachia luymesi , which lives in cold seeps . The former, however, has rapid growth rates and short life spans of about 2 years, while the latter is slow growing and may live over 250 years. Food scarcity at depths greater than 400 m
186-501: A unit of measurement . Such a magnitude is usually expressed as a numerical value of units on a previously established spatial scale , such as meters or inches . The sizes with which humans tend to be most familiar are body dimensions (measures of anthropometry ), which include measures such as human height and human body weight . These measures can, in the aggregate, allow the generation of commercially useful distributions of products that accommodate expected body sizes, as with
217-399: Is a different concept. In scientific contexts, mass refers loosely to the amount of " matter " in an object (though "matter" may be difficult to define), whereas weight refers to the force experienced by an object due to gravity . An object with a mass of 1.0 kilogram will weigh approximately 9.81 newtons ( newton is the unit of force, while kilogram is the unit of mass) on the surface of
248-413: Is also thought to be a factor, since larger body size can improve ability to forage for widely scattered resources. In organisms with planktonic eggs or larvae, another possible advantage is that larger offspring, with greater initial stored food reserves, can drift for greater distances. As an example of adaptations to this situation, giant isopods gorge on food when available, distending their bodies to
279-413: Is an ordering (or ranking) of the class of objects to which it belongs. There are various other mathematical concepts of size for sets, such as: In statistics ( hypothesis testing ), the "size" of the test refers to the rate of false positives , denoted by α. In astronomy , the magnitude of brightness or intensity of a star is measured on a logarithmic scale . Such a scale is also used to measure
310-499: Is associated with the fictional character, the Grinch , who was said in the story to have been born with a heart that they say was "two sizes too small", such that when he is later redeemed, his heart grows "three sizes that day", leading cardiologist David Kass to humorously suggest that the rapid growth of the Grinch's heart at the end of the story indicates that the Grinch has the physiology of
341-577: Is occasionally assigned to characteristics that do not have measurable dimensions, such as the metaphorical reference to the size of a person's heart as a shorthand for describing their typical degree of kindness or generosity . With respect to physical size, the concept of resizing is occasionally presented in fairy tales , fantasy , and science fiction , placing humans in a different context within their natural environment by depicting them as having physically been made exceptionally large or exceptionally small through some fantastic means. A famous example
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#1733114951206372-476: Is reduced predation pressure in deeper waters. A study of brachiopods found that predation was nearly an order of magnitude less frequent at the greatest depths than in shallow waters. Dissolved oxygen levels are also thought to play a role in deep-sea gigantism. A 1999 study of benthic amphipod crustaceans found that maximum potential organism size directly correlates with increased dissolved oxygen levels of deeper waters. The solubility of dissolved oxygen in
403-431: Is the tendency for species of deep-sea dwelling animals to be larger than their shallower-water relatives across a large taxonomic range, and island gigantism (or insular gigantism) is a biological phenomenon in which the size of an animal species isolated on an island increases dramatically in comparison to its mainland relatives. Although the size of an object may be reflected in its mass or its weight , each of these
434-529: Is thought to result in increased cell size and increased life span (the latter also being associated with delayed sexual maturity ), both of which lead to an increase in maximum body size (continued growth throughout life is characteristic of crustaceans). In Arctic and Antarctic seas where there is a reduced vertical temperature gradient, there is also a reduced trend towards increased body size with depth, arguing against hydrostatic pressure being an important parameter. Temperature does not appear to have
465-502: The Earth (its mass multiplied by the gravitational field strength ). Its weight will be less on Mars (where gravity is weaker), more on Saturn , and negligible in space when far from any significant source of gravity, but it will always have the same mass. Two objects of equal size, however, may have very different mass and weight, depending on the composition and density of the objects. By contrast, if two objects are known to have roughly
496-635: The Planck constant , and the Newtonian constant of gravitation . In contrast, the largest observable thing is the observable universe . The comoving distance – the distance as would be measured at a specific time, including the present – between Earth and the edge of the observable universe is 46 billion light-years (14 × 10 ^ pc), making the diameter of the observable universe about 91 billion light-years (28 × 10 ^ pc). In poetry , fiction , and other literature , size
527-495: The deep sea . The harsh conditions and inhospitality of the underwater environment in general, as well as the inaccessibility of the abyssal zone for most human-made underwater vehicles , have hindered the study of this topic. In marine crustaceans , the trend of increasing size with depth has been observed in mysids , euphausiids , decapods , isopods and amphipods . Non-arthropods in which deep-sea gigantism has been observed are cephalopods , cnidarians , and eels from
558-421: The deepwater stingray , the seven-arm octopus , and a number of squid species: the colossal squid (up to 14 m in length), the giant squid (up to 12 m), Megalocranchia fisheri , robust clubhook squid , Dana octopus squid , cockatoo squid , giant warty squid , and the bigfin squids of the genus Magnapinna . Deep-sea gigantism is not generally observed in the meiofauna (organisms that pass through
589-439: The closer object. This also allows for the estimation of the size of large objects based on comparison of closer and farther parts of the same object. The perception of size can be distorted by manipulating these cues, for example through the creation of forced perspective . Some measures of size may also be determined by sound . Visually impaired humans often use echolocation to determine features of their surroundings, such as
620-477: The creation of clothing sizes and shoe sizes , and with the standardization of door frame dimensions, ceiling heights, and bed sizes . The human experience of size can lead to a psychological tendency towards size bias, wherein the relative importance or perceived complexity of organisms and other objects is judged based on their size relative to humans , and particularly whether this size makes them easy to observe without aid. Humans most frequently perceive
651-409: The intensity of an earthquake , and this intensity is often referred to as the "size" of the event. In computing, file size is a measure of the size of a computer file , typically measured in bytes . The actual amount of disk space consumed by the file depends on the file system . The maximum file size a file system supports depends on the number of bits reserved to store size information and
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#1733114951206682-561: The naked eye may be measured when viewed through a microscope , while objects too large to fit within the field of vision may be measured using a telescope , or through extrapolation from known reference points. However, even very advanced measuring devices may still present a limited field of view . Objects being described by their relative size are often described as being comparatively big and little, or large and small, although "big and little tend to carry affective and evaluative connotations, whereas large and small tend to refer only to
713-417: The oceans is known to increase with depth because of increasing pressure, decreasing salinity levels and temperature. The proposed theory behind this trend is that deep-sea gigantism could be an adaptive trait to combat asphyxiation in ocean waters. Larger organisms are able to intake more dissolved oxygen within the ocean, allowing for sufficient respiration. However, this increased absorption of oxygen runs
744-424: The order Anguilliformes . Other [animals] attain under them gigantic proportions. It is especially certain crustacea which exhibit this latter peculiarity, but not all crustacea, for the crayfish like forms in the deep sea are of ordinary size. I have already referred to a gigantic Pycnogonid [sea spider] dredged by us. Louis Agassiz dredged a gigantic Isopod 11 inches [28 centimetres] in length. We also dredged
775-420: The point of compromising ability to locomote; they can also survive 5 years without food in captivity. According to Kleiber's law , the larger an animal gets, the more efficient its metabolism becomes; i.e., an animal's basal metabolic rate scales to roughly the ¾ power of its mass. Under conditions of limited food supply, this may provide additional benefit to large size. An additional possible influence
806-408: The same composition, then some information about the size of one can be determined by measuring the size of the other, and determining the difference in weight between the two. For example, if two blocks of wood are equally dense, and it is known that one weighs ten kilograms and the other weighs twenty kilograms, and that the ten kilogram block has a volume of one cubic foot, then it can be deduced that
837-627: The size of a thing". A wide range of other terms exist to describe things by their relative size, with small things being described for example as tiny, miniature, or minuscule, and large things being described as, for example, huge, gigantic, or enormous. Objects are also typically described as tall or short specifically relative to their vertical height, and as long or short specifically relative to their length along other directions. People who have experienced excessive growth and height significantly above average are described as having gigantism . Outside of humans, deep-sea gigantism (or abyssal gigantism)
868-426: The size of objects through visual cues . One common means of perceiving size is to compare the size of a newly observed object with the size of a familiar object whose size is already known. Binocular vision gives humans the capacity for depth perception , which can be used to judge which of several objects is closer, and by how much, which allows for some estimation of the size of the more distant object relative to
899-451: The size of spaces and objects. However, even humans who lack this ability can tell if a space that they are unable to see is large or small from hearing sounds echo in the space. Size can also be determined by touch , which is a process of haptic perception . The sizes of objects that can not readily be measured merely by sensory input may be evaluated with other kinds of measuring instruments . For example, objects too small to be seen with
930-402: The total size of the file system in terms of its capacity to store bits of information. In physics , the Planck length , denoted ℓ P , is a unit of length , equal to 1.616 199 (97) × 10 metres . It is a unit in the system of Planck units , developed by physicist Max Planck . The Planck length is defined in terms of three fundamental physical constants : the speed of light ,
961-419: The twenty kilogram block has a volume of two cubic feet. The concept of size is often applied to ideas that have no physical reality. In mathematics , magnitude is the size of a mathematical object , which is an abstract object with no concrete existence. Magnitude is a property by which the object can be compared as larger or smaller than other objects of the same kind. More formally, an object's magnitude