Interesting facts about the States of Matter: Solids, Liquids & Gases

Overview

Life on earth would be impossible without the existence of matter. The matter is one of the only reasons why we exist. We humans and every other living and sometimes even non-living things depend on the matter very much.

“Matter matters the most, and it is inevitable”

So, in this article, we will be discussing the three main states of matter, which are solid, liquid, and gas, in detail while thoroughly understanding all the related concepts side by side.

three main states of matter

Understanding matter

First of all, before diving deep into the topic, we should understand what the matter is. A matter is nothing but the state of existence of a particle. A state of matter can be easily understood by the distinct forms in which the different phases of matter take on.

• State of the matter is ideally of three major forms: Solids, Liquids and Gas, but it can also be seen in the form of plasma.
• Other than that, many other states can be found as Bose-Einstein condensates and neutrons–degenerate matter. These states can only occur in extreme situations such as ultra-dense or ultracold matter.
• Moreover, one more state stays theoretical until now, and it is called quark-gluon plasmas.

Definitions

Per the previous studies done by scientists, matters are identified based on their quantitative differences in properties. The following is the brief explanation of how different matters are being distinguished,

• Solid: The particles present in the solid matter state follow a fixed set of shape and volume along with component particles such as atoms, ions and molecules, bonded together and fixed into one specific area or space.
• Liquid: The particles present in a liquid state maintain a fixed volume. However, this is far different from solid because of its variable shape, which qualifies it to be fixed into any type of container or storage unit. Though they are close together, they can still freely move.
• Gas: Matter present in the gaseous state consists of variable volume as well as variable shape. This helps the particles present in gas to be easily adapted and effortlessly fit inside a container. One unique thing about gaseous substances is that they are neither bonded together nor fixed in place.
• Plasma: Matter presented inside plasma has a variable shape and volume. It also consists of atoms and a significant amount of electrons and ions, which allow them to move smoothly.

Interesting fact: Plasma is the most common form of visible matter in the universe.

The three fundamental states of matter

In this section, we will cover all these in detail;

Solid

The particles such as atoms, molecules, and ions are closely packed to one another in solids. This is to give the structure strength and rigidness. In solids, the particles cannot move smoothly, but they can only vibrate, and due to this reason, solid structures cannot fit easily in any form or a container.

So, as a result of this, solid structures have a stable, rigid body with definite shape and volume. The only way to change the shape of a solid is by giving it some external force, and while doing so, it will either break or cut or deform.

Furthermore, when we take a crystalline structured solid, the particles, namely ions, molecules, and atoms, are seemingly packed in a repeating pattern that is regularly ordered. An interesting thing about crystal solids is that they contain an enormous number of different crystal structures and the same substance, which possesses more than one structure. 

For instance, consider an iron-containing cubic structure of a body-centered below 912 ºC and a face-centered cone with a temperature between 912 ºC and 1394 ºC. 

Interesting fact: Ice contains 15 known crystal structures that are allowed to exist at different pressures and temperatures.

Glasses and other non-crystalline, amorphous solids are not considered as thermal equilibrium ground states because they do not have long-range order. Due to this reason, they have been illustrated as non-classical states of matter.

The following are examples of solid state of matter;

• Rocks
• Furniture
• Ceramic mugs and plates
• Glass cups
• Electronic goods etc.

Do you know?

Solids are transferable into liquid forms by melting and can also be changed directly into gaseous form by the sublimation process.

Liquid

The liquid is almost an incompressible fluid that agrees to the shape of a storage unit or a container in which it could be incorporated. Liquids are very much capable of retaining a constant volume independent of pressure.

In liquids, particles such as ions, atoms, and molecules are loosely bonded compared to solid matter. Due to this loose package, they have fixed volume but no fixed shape.

As the atoms and other particles have very little space between them, compressing a liquid is very difficult. Moreover, the attractive force between the particles is much weaker than that of solids. Liquid also has a higher diffusion rate compared to solids.

Some of the most well known liquid substances are;

• Water
• Alcohol
• Oil
• Petrol 
• Milk etc.

Gas

In this states of matter, the particles namely atoms, molecules, and ions are all vastly separated from one another. As they are widely separated, the kinetic energy produced inside the matter is very high due to the frequent movement of particles in the air. The amount of movement will be much higher than that of both solids and liquids.

The gaseous state of matter is capable of following every thermodynamic law namely Boyle’s Law, Gay – Lussac’s Law, Charles Law, etc.

Gaseous properties include indefinite shape and volume. Due to this, gases can be expanded to any extant inside a container, which is impossible for both solids and liquids. Apart from that, gases are highly compressible as well. While compressing the gases, there forms pressure, and while expanding it, the pressure would reduce.

Some examples of gases are,

• Helium (inside a balloon)
• Hydrogen
• Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) – can be used for household activities such as cooking
• Oxygen
• Carbon dioxide etc.

Change of state

A matter can move from one state to another but could still exist as the same substance. A state change is considered a phase change, which is nothing but a physical change from one state to another. For instance, from solid to gas or from liquid to solid.

Illustration:

The following is a simple illustration that would help you understand the phase change concept;

1. Take some water in a cup and heat it with a stove. You can see the air bubbles forming on top of the water and radiating some hot gas out of it. This is a phase change from liquid to gas.
2. Take some water and keep it in the freezer for some time with low degrees. When you try to take it out, you can see that the water is converted into ice. This is a phase change activity from liquid to solid.
3. Take some ice cubes out from the freezer and leave them slightly. You can see that due to temperature differences, ice melts and water is obtained. This phase change is called solid to liquid.

Likewise, there are certain ways you can change the phases of a state.

Frequently Asked Questions about the state of matter