CHEM1001 Lecture 4: Chem 4
Document Summary
The three states of matter are the three distinct physical forms that matter can take in most environments: solid, liquid, and gas. In extreme environments, other states may be present, such as plasma, bose-einstein condensates, and neutron stars. Further states, such as quark-gluon plasmas, are also believed to be possible. Much of the atomic matter of the universe is hot plasma in the form of rarefied interstellar medium and dense stars. Historically, the states of matter were distinguished based on qualitative differences in their bulk properties. Each of these three classical states of matter can transition directly into either of the other two classical states. This diagram shows the nomenclature for the different phase transitions. The forces between the particles are strong enough that the particles cannot move freely; they can only vibrate. As a result, a solid has a stable, definite shape and a definite volume. Solids can only change shape under force, as when broken or cut.
