STATES OF MATTER

Matter

Matter can be classified into different categories based on the physical properties exhibited by them and the states in which they exist; these are called states of matter.

Following are the basic 3 states of matter

• Solid
• Liquid
• Gas

Apart from the above mentioned three, there are 2 more states of matter which we do not see in our everyday life. They are Plasma & Bose-einstein condensate.

It has been observed that matter exists in nature in different forms. Some substances are rigid and have a fixed shape like wood and stone; some substances can flow and take the shape of their container like water, while there are forms of matter that do not have definite shape or size such as air.

SOLID

     In solids, particles are tightly or closely packed.

• The gaps between the particles are tiny and hence it is tough to compress them.
• Solid has a fixed shape and volume.
• Due to its rigid nature, particles in solid can only vibrate about their mean position and cannot move.
• Force of attraction between particles is adamant.
• The rate of diffusion in solids is very low.
• An example of solids: solid ice, sugar, rock, wood, etc. 

Liquid

• In a liquid state of matter, particles are less tightly packed as compared to solids.
• Liquids take the shape of the container in which they are kept.
• Liquids are difficult to compress as particles have less space between them to move.
• Liquids have fixed volume but no fixed shape.
• The rate of diffusion in liquids is higher than that of solids.
• Force of attraction between the particles is weaker than solids.
• Example of a liquid state of matter: water, milk, blood, coffee, etc.

Gas

• In gases, particles are far apart from each other.
• Force of attraction between the particles is negligible, and they can move freely.
• Gases have neither a fixed volume nor a fixed shape.
• The gaseous state has the highest compressibility as compared to solids and liquids.
• The rate is diffusion is higher than solids and liquids.
• The kinetic energy of particles is higher than in solids and liquids.
• An example of gases: air, helium , nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide, etc.

PLASMA

• Plasma is a not so generally seen form of matter. Plasma consists of particles with extremely high kinetic energy. Electricity is used to ionize noble gases and make glowing signs, which is essentially plasma.
• Superheated forms of plasma are what stars are.

Plasma is superheated matter – so hot that the electrons are ripped away from the atoms forming an ionized gas. It comprises over 99% of the visible universe. In the night sky, plasma glows in the form of stars, nebulas, and even the auroras that sometimes ripple above the north and south poles. That branch of lightning that cracks the sky is plasma, so are the neon signs along our city streets. And so is our sun, the star that makes life on earth possible.
                               

                                                           Plasma is often called “the fourth state of matter,” along with solid, liquid and gas. Just as a liquid will boil, changing into a gas when energy is added, heating a gas will form a plasma – a soup of positively charged particles (ions) and negatively charged particles (electrons).

                      

                                                                Because so much of the universe is made of plasma, its behavior and properties are of intense interest to scientists in many disciplines. Importantly, at the temperatures required for the goal of practical fusion energy, all matter is in the form of plasma. Researchers have used the properties of plasma as a charged gas to confine it with magnetic fields and to heat it to temperatures hotter than the core of the sun. Other researchers pursue plasmas for making computer chips, rocket propulsion, cleaning the environment, destroying biological hazards, healing wounds and other exciting applications.