A state of matter is a class of materials, usually solid, liquid, and gas. Ionized Plasma, Quark-gluon plasma, Bose-Einstein condensate and fermionic condensate are other less commonly known states of matter. A state of matter is also referred to as a physical state and often erroneously described as a phase. There is a classic general science description of each of the phases: A solid is a material that maintains its shape and its volume; a liquid maintains its volume but takes on the shape of its container; A gas takes on both the shape and volume of its container. Bose-Einstein condensate and fermionic condensate are currently achievable at near absolute zero temperatures in laboratory settings. Both kinds of plasma are achieved at very high temperatures, and behave as gases. Quark-gluon plasmas exist at such high temperatures and pressures that they are unlikely to exist outside of laboratory conditions since shortly after the Big Bang. This box:      For other uses, see Solid (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Liquid (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Gas (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Plasma. ... A QGP is formed at the collision point of two relativistically accelerated gold ions in the center of the STAR detector at the relativistic heavy ion collider at the Brookhaven national laboratory. ... A Bose–Einstein condensate is a phase of matter formed by bosons cooled to temperatures very near to absolute zero (0 kelvins or -273. ... A fermionic condensate is a superfluid phase formed by fermionic particles at low temperatures. ... In the physical sciences, a phase is a set of states of a macroscopic physical system that have relatively uniform chemical composition and physical properties (i. ... For other uses, see Absolute Zero (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Big Bang (disambiguation). ...

Solids

Main article: Solid

Materials that are solids have a stable, definite shape, and a definite volume. In a solid, the particles are packed closely together, they cannot move freely, they can only vibrate. The movement energy and temperature are very low. This box:      For other uses, see Solid (disambiguation). ...

Liquids

Main article: Liquid

Materials that are liquids do not have a definite shape. The shape of a liquid is determined by the container in which it is contained. The volume is definite. In a liquid, the particles are farther apart, and they can slide past each other easily. The movement energy and temperature, in comparison to a solid, are higher. For other uses, see Liquid (disambiguation). ...

Gases

Main article: Gas

Materials that are gases have an indefinite, unstable shape. The volume is determined by the container that is closely sealed. In a gas, the particles are far apart from each other, and they can move around quickly. The movement energy and temperature are the higher than those of both solids and liquids. For other uses, see Gas (disambiguation). ...

Plasmas

Main article: Plasma (physics)

Plasmas are known as the fourth state of matter. They are "hotter" than gas. A plasma occurs when the temperature is between 1000 degrees C and 1,000,000,000 degrees C. Some examples of plasma are flames, lightning, aurora (northern lights), neon lights, and stars, including our own sun. For other uses, see Plasma. ... Sol redirects here. ...

Ions are chemical species that contain unequal number of electrons and protons, and therefore possess an electrical charge. As plasmas are heated, electrons begin to leave the charged species, resulting in the presence of free electrons, which are not bound to an atom or molecule. The free electric charges make the plasma electrically conductive so that it responds strongly to electromagnetic fields. At very high temperatures, such as those present in stars, it is assumed that essentially all electrons are "free," and that a very high energy plasma is essentially bare nuclei swimming in a sea of electrons. The most common state of matter in the universe is believed to be plasma. Chemical species is a common, general name for atoms, molecules, molecular fragments and ions as entities being subjected to a chemical process or to a measurement. ...

Bose-Einstein condensate

Main article: Bose-Einstein condensate

In 1924, Albert Einstein and Satyendra Bose predicted the "Bose-Einstein condensate," the fifth state of matter. It remained an unverified theoretical prediction for many years. Finally in 1995, Wolfgang Ketterle and his team of graduate students produced such a condensate experimentally. A Bose-Einstein condensate is "colder" than a solid. It occurs when atoms have very similar (or the same) quantum levels. Temperatures close to absolute zero (-273 °C) will exhibit the Bose-Einstein condensate. A Bose–Einstein condensate is a phase of matter formed by bosons cooled to temperatures very near to absolute zero (0 kelvins or -273. ... “Einstein” redirects here. ... Satyendra Nath Bose /sɐθ. ... Wolfgang Ketterle (born October 21, 1957, in Heidelberg, Germany) is a German physicist and a professor of physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. ... Quantum levels are fixed levels with a logarithmic, descending quantum pattern in the visible spectrum of light that can be observed through a spectrometer while looking at intense flows of electricity through the various halides on the periodic table in a vaccuum tube. ... For other uses, see Absolute Zero (disambiguation). ...

At temperatures slightly closer to absolute zero, it will attempt to 'climb' out of its container.^[1]

Changes in states of matter

This diagram shows the nomenclature for the different phase transitions.

a solid → a liquid = melting (heat energy added) e.g. ice melts to water Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ...

a liquid → a gas = evaporation (heat energy added) e.g. water to water vapour

a solid → a gas = sublimation (heat energy added) e.g. dried ice (frozen CO₂) to carbon dioxide

a gas → a liquid = condensation (heat energy removed) e.g. cloud to rain

a liquid → a solid = solidification (heat energy removed) e.g. water to ice

a gas → a solid = deposition (heat energy removed) e.g. water vapour to frost

Other examples of states of matter

Main article: List of states of matter

Under extremely high pressure, ordinary matter undergoes a transition to a series of exotic states of matter collectively known as degenerate matter. These are of great interest to astrophysics, because these high-pressure conditions are believed to exist inside stars that have used up their nuclear fusion "fuel", such as white dwarves and neutron stars. This is a list of the different states of matter including the more exotic ones (see phases of matter). ... Degenerate matter is matter which has sufficiently high density that the dominant contribution to its pressure arises from the Pauli exclusion principle. ... Spiral Galaxy ESO 269-57 Astrophysics is the branch of astronomy that deals with the physics of the universe, including the physical properties (luminosity, density, temperature, and chemical composition) of celestial objects such as stars, galaxies, and the interstellar medium, as well as their interactions. ... This article is about the astronomical object. ... The deuterium-tritium (D-T) fusion reaction is considered the most promising for producing sustainable fusion power. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... For the story by Larry Niven, see Neutron Star (story). ...

When in a normal solid state, the atoms of matter align themselves in a grid pattern, so that the spin of any electron is the opposite of the spin of all electrons touching it. But in a string-net liquid, atoms are arranged in some pattern which would require some electrons to have neighbors with the same spin. This gives rise to some curious properties, as well as supporting some unusual proposals about the fundamental conditions of the universe, itself. String-net liquid is the phrase used for a hypothetical state of matter in which the atoms do not line up in opposing spins, but in a more erratic order, as if they had partial spins or charges. ...

One of the metastable states of strongly non ideal plasma is Rydberg matter which forms upon condensation of excited atoms. These atoms can also turn into ions and electrons if they reach a certain temperature. Rydberg matter is a metastable state of highly excited atoms (see Rydberg atom) which are condensed in a solid- or liquid-like very low density matter. ...

See also

• Phase (matter)
• Condensed matter physics
• Cooling curve
• Supercooling
• Superheating

In the physical sciences, a phase is a set of states of a macroscopic physical system that have relatively uniform chemical composition and physical properties (i. ... Condensed matter physics is the field of physics that deals with the macroscopic physical properties of matter. ... A cooling curve of naphthalene from liquid to solid. ... Supercool redirects here. ... In physics, superheating (sometimes referred to as boiling retardation, boiling delay, or defervescence) is the phenomenon in which a liquid is heated to a temperature higher than its standard boiling point, without actually boiling. ...

References

1. ^ The QI Book of General Ignorance, 3. 

This article does not cite any references or sources. (April 2008) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.

External links

• 2005-06-22, MIT News: MIT physicists create new form of matter Citat: "... They have become the first to create a new type of matter, a gas of atoms that shows high-temperature superfluidity."
• 2003-10-10, Science Daily: Metallic Phase For Bosons Implies New State Of Matter
• 2004-01-15, ScienceDaily: Probable Discovery Of A New, Supersolid, Phase Of Matter Citat: "...We apparently have observed, for the first time, a solid material with the characteristics of a superfluid...but because all its particles are in the identical quantum state, it remains a solid even though its component particles are continually flowing..."
• 2004-01-29, ScienceDaily: NIST/University Of Colorado Scientists Create New Form Of Matter: A Fermionic Condensate