Ideal facts for kids
The word ideal can mean different things, but it usually refers to something that is perfect or the best possible example of its kind. It can also mean a goal or a value that someone tries to achieve.
What Does "Ideal" Mean?
When we talk about an "ideal," we often mean a perfect standard or a goal that we aim for. For example, an "ideal student" might be someone who always studies hard, is kind to others, and gets good grades. This student might not exist perfectly, but they represent what we think of as the best.
Ideal in Philosophy
In philosophy, an ideal can be a very important idea.
- Goals and Values: An ideal can be a value or a goal that a person or a group actively works towards. It's like a guiding principle for how to live or what to believe. For example, "justice" or "equality" can be ideals that people fight for.
- Perfect Forms: The Platonic ideal is an old idea from the Greek philosopher Plato. He thought that for every object or concept we see in the world, there's a perfect, unchanging version of it somewhere else. For example, all the chairs we see are just imperfect copies of a perfect, "ideal" chair.
Ideal in Science
In science, "ideal" is often used to describe a simplified model or a perfect condition that helps scientists understand how things work. These "ideal" situations don't always happen in the real world, but they are useful for experiments and calculations.
- Perfect Gases: The ideal gas law is a rule in physics that describes how a perfect gas would behave. This "ideal gas" is a made-up model where gas particles don't take up any space and don't attract each other. Even though real gases aren't perfectly ideal, this law helps scientists understand how gases like air behave under different conditions.
- Perfect Machines: An ideal transformer is a concept in electricity. It's a perfect machine that would transfer electrical energy from one circuit to another without losing any energy. In the real world, all transformers lose a little bit of energy, but thinking about an "ideal" one helps engineers design better ones.
- Thinking Experiments: Sometimes, a thought experiment is called an "ideal experiment." This is when scientists imagine a perfect experiment in their minds to test a theory, even if it's impossible to do in real life.
Ideal in Everyday Life
The word "ideal" is also used in the names of many companies, products, and places.
- Companies:
- Ideal Film Company: This was a British movie studio from the early days of film, when movies didn't have sound.
- Ideal Ice Cream: This is a company that makes ice cream.
- Ideal Toy Company: This was a famous toy company that made many popular toys, like the Rubik's Cube and the Tiny Tears doll.
- Music and Books:
- Ideal (group): An American R&B music group from the late 1990s and early 2000s.
- Ideal (German band): A German rock band from the early 1980s.
- Ideal: An album by the R&B group Ideal.
- An Ideal: An album by Chinese singer Li Ronghao.
- Ideal: A novel written by Ayn Rand.
- Ideal: A play also written by Ayn Rand, based on her novel.
- TV Shows:
- Ideal: A British TV comedy show.
- Vehicles:
- Changhe Ideal: A small car made by a company called Changhe.
- Ideal 18: A type of sailboat designed in Canada.
- Places:
- Ideal, Georgia: A town in the state of Georgia, USA.
- Ideal, Illinois: A small community in Illinois, USA.
- Ideal, South Dakota: A town in South Dakota, USA.
- Ideal Mini School: A school in Canada.
- Other Uses:
- IDEAL Scholars Fund: A program in the United States that helps students from groups who don't usually get to go to college.
- Ideal: A newspaper published in Spain.
- iDEAL: A popular way to pay for things online in the Netherlands.
- Ideal Industries: An American company that makes tools and electrical connectors.
See also
In Spanish: Ideal para niños
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- All pages with titles containing "Ideal"
- All pages beginning with Ideal
- Idealism (disambiguation)
- Idea
- Idol (disambiguation)
- Idle (disambiguation)
- Idyl (disambiguation)
