Is it possible to style these elements with CSS?

Input boxes accept the inline attribute "size='x' " and text area boxes will accept the inline attribute "cols='x' "

but I`m not sure what either of those 'x' values are meant to represent. They are obviously not pixels. Em`s maybe?

At any rate is it possible to set these attributes with a Css style sheet?

I`ve tried using the Css width property but it doesnt seem to take effect.

but I`m not sure what either of those 'x' values are meant to represent.

Character width/height (ems are close enough)

At any rate is it possible to set these attributes with a Css style sheet?

No
Rendering of input fields and elements is NOT handled by HTML, it is handled by the underlying OS of the client browser. (Which is why they look different on different OS's)
Some styling can be done, fonts, colours etc but the structure of the input element is pretty much unaffected.

I see.
They must be node elements of the DOM though, right?

In which case, it must be possible to use Javascript to apply some size styling rather than manually change each piece of code.

Is there a JQuery or other framework script that does this? I`ve googled a bit but havent found anything yet. It would be something handy to have.