mesoscopicadj.
/ˌmɛsə(ʊ)ˈskɒpɪk/, U.S. /ˌmɛzoʊˈskɑpɪk/; see also meso- comb. form. 1. gen. Of or relating to a scale intermediate between microscopic and macroscopic.
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1942 Jrnl. Hist. Ideas 3 27 History takes a macroscopic or mesoscopic rather than a microscopic view of events.
1998 Jrnl. Cereal Sci. 28 127 These results suggest that the gluten network at the mesoscopic level is an artefact of severe dehydration, as opposed to the intrinsic structure.
2. Geology. Of an intermediate size, large enough for examination with the naked eye but small enough that the whole can be examined as a single entity.
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the world > the earth > earth sciences > geology > [adjective] > rock sample
mesoscopic1957
whole-rock1960
1957 L. E. Weiss & D. B. McIntyre in Jrnl. Geol. (Chicago) 65 577/2 The different kinds of mesoscopic structures found in the area. [Note] The use of the terms ‘microscopic’, ‘mesoscopic’, and ‘macroscopic’ in this paper accords with the definitions suggested elsewhere by one of the writers (Weiss, 1957 [published 1958]), as follows:..2. Mesoscopic: This covers fields ranging in size from a single hand specimen to a single continuous exposure (generally, but not always, of small size) in which data can be measured with sufficient accuracy and continuity to allow determination of its over-all structural geometry.
1965 G. J. Williams Econ. Geol. N.Z. vi. 66/1 Grindley (1963) noted that post-metamorphic folding in southern Westland was accompanied by axial-plane cleavage on mesoscopic shear folds.
1993 Jrnl. Petrol. 34 236 The zones of transformation can be traced to structurally oriented mesoscopic shears/faults which cut across the gneissic fabric.
3. Physics. Of or relating to a size intermediate between macroscopic and atomic (typically between 10−6 m and 10−8 m). Hence: influenced by or exhibiting both quantum and macroscopic phenomena.
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1976 N. G. van Kampen in AIP Conf. Proc. 27 153 In practice one starts from an intermediate level of description, more detailed than the macroscopic one... ‘Mesoscopic’ is a suitable term for this approach.
1980 Physica Status Solidi A. 57 269 During cyclic deformation a ‘mesoscopic’ or ‘half-macroscopic’ dislocation is formed.
1987 Nature 22 Oct. 676/2 The Aharonov–Bohm effect has also been detected in various non-superconducting solid-state devices,..and in semiconductor microstructures, provided that the structures are small (‘mesoscopic’, scale ≃ 1 μm), and the temperature is low (<1 K).
1990 G. Bear Heads 13 These were the mesoscopic samples, large enough to experience the macroscopic qualities of temperature, small enough to lie within the microscopic realm of quantum forces.
1998 New Scientist 28 Nov. 93/2 (advt.) Those appointed will have expertise in continuum mechanics, applied analysis, mesoscopic structures or related areas.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2001; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.1942