observable

comparative more observable · superlative most observable

1. Able to be observed.

   The strange new star was at the edge of the observable universe.

   3 more examples

   In 1913, in the same year that Mother's Day became a nationally observable holiday, the American people passed another milestone: for the first time in American history more than one person in one thousand was divorced.

   2004, John Lukacs, A New Republic: A History of the United States in the Twentieth Century

   Although intellectual property rights, such as patents, are highly observable, they are mostly limited to product technologies. Process technologies, or the routines endemic in the firm's production, are not readily observable, and thus cannot be easily imitated.

   2008, David J. Teece, Technological Know-how, Organizational Capabilities, and Strategic Management

   He added, in an email to CNN, that “the collection of increasingly large and well curated medical datasets has enabled AI tools to predict genetic mutations from imaging phenotypes reducing the burden of healthcare systems and improving the way we care for patients.” Phenotypes are observable characteristics.

   2019 January 8, Nina Avramova, “AI technology can identify genetic diseases by looking at your face, study says”, in CNN, archived from the original on 27 Nov 2022

   Synonyms: noticeable

2. Deserving to be observed; worth regarding; remarkable.

   Both were observable figures; one a personable individual of foreign cut, the other—obviously in spite of his well-wrapped-up form—a pronounced cripple.

   1934, Ernest Bramah [pseudonym; Ernest Brammah Smith], The Bravo of London

   Synonyms: eminent

plural observables

1. natural sciencesAny physical property that can be observed and measured directly and not derived from other properties.

   Temperature is an observable but entropy is derived.

   1 more example

   In quantum mechanics, observables correspond to Hermitian operators. Also, they act a lot like random variables. Taking their expected value one may recover something resembling a classical observable.