A
point particle (
ideal particle or
point-like particle, often spelled
pointlike particle) is an
idealization of
particles heavily used in
physics. Its defining feature is that it lacks
spatial extension: being zero-dimensional, it does not take up space. A point particle is an appropriate representation of any object whose size, shape, and structure is irrelevant in a given context. For example, from far enough away, an object of any shape will look and behave as a point-like object.