Liquid. The density of a liquid is usually close to that of a solid, and much higher than in a gas. Therefore, liquid and solid are both termed condensed matter. On the other hand, as liquids and gases share the ability to flow, they are both called fluids. Although liquid water is abundant on Earth, this state of matter is actually the least common in the known universe, because liquids require a relatively narrow temperature/pressure range to exist. Most known matter in the universe is in gaseous form (with traces of detectable solid matter) as interstellar clouds or in plasma form within stars. Introduction[edit] Thermal image of a sink full of hot water with cold water being added, showing how the hot and the cold water flow into each other.
A liquid, like a gas, displays the properties of a fluid. Liquid particles are bound firmly but not rigidly. Examples[edit] Pure substances that are liquid under normal conditions include water, ethanol and many other organic solvents. Applications[edit] Gas. The gaseous state of matter is found between the liquid and plasma states,[1] the latter of which provides the upper temperature boundary for gases. Bounding the lower end of the temperature scale lie degenerative quantum gases[2] which are gaining increasing attention.[3] High-density atomic gases super cooled to incredibly low temperatures are classified by their statistical behavior as either a Bose gas or a Fermi gas.
For a comprehensive listing of these exotic states of matter see list of states of matter. Elemental gases[edit] The only chemical elements which are stable multi atom homonuclear molecules at standard temperature and pressure (STP), are hydrogen (H2), nitrogen (N2) and oxygen (O2); plus two halogens, fluorine (F2) and chlorine (Cl2). These gases, when grouped together with the monatomic noble gases; which are helium (He), neon (Ne), argon (Ar), krypton (Kr), xenon (Xe) and radon (Rn) ; are called "elemental gases".
Etymology[edit] Physical characteristics[edit] Solid. Single crystalline form of solid Insulin. The branch of physics that deals with solids is called solid-state physics, and is the main branch of condensed matter physics (which also includes liquids). Materials science is primarily concerned with the physical and chemical properties of solids. Solid-state chemistry is especially concerned with the synthesis of novel materials, as well as the science of identification and chemical composition. Microscopic description[edit] Model of closely packed atoms within a crystalline solid. The atoms, molecules or ions which make up solids may be arranged in an orderly repeating pattern, or irregularly. Schematic representation of a random-network glassy form (left) and ordered crystalline lattice (right) of identical chemical composition.
In other materials, there is no long-range order in the position of the atoms. Whether a solid is crystalline or amorphous depends on the material involved, and the conditions in which it was formed. [edit] Bose–Einstein condensate. A Bose–Einstein condensate (BEC) is a state of matter of a dilute gas of bosons cooled to temperatures very close to absolute zero (that is, very near 0 K or −273.15 °C[1]). Under such conditions, a large fraction of the bosons occupy the lowest quantum state, at which point quantum effects become apparent on a macroscopic scale.
These effects are called macroscopic quantum phenomena. Although later experiments have revealed complex interactions, this state of matter was first predicted, generally, in 1924–25 by Satyendra Nath Bose and Albert Einstein. History[edit] Velocity-distribution data (3 views) for a gas of rubidium atoms, confirming the discovery of a new phase of matter, the Bose–Einstein condensate. In 1938 Fritz London proposed BEC as a mechanism for superfluidity in 4He and superconductivity.[4][5] Concept[edit] where: Einstein's non-interacting model[edit] Consider a collection of N noninteracting particles, which can each be in one of two quantum states, and . Or independently. . Superconductivity. Video of a Meissner effect in a high temperature superconductor (black pellet) with a NdFeB magnet (metallic) A high-temperature superconductor levitating above a magnet Superconductivity is a phenomenon of exactly zero electrical resistance and expulsion of magnetic fields occurring in certain materials when cooled below a characteristic critical temperature.
It was discovered by Dutch physicist Heike Kamerlingh Onnes on April 8, 1911 in Leiden. Like ferromagnetism and atomic spectral lines, superconductivity is a quantum mechanical phenomenon. It is characterized by the Meissner effect, the complete ejection of magnetic field lines from the interior of the superconductor as it transitions into the superconducting state. The occurrence of the Meissner effect indicates that superconductivity cannot be understood simply as the idealization of perfect conductivity in classical physics. Explanation[edit] Classification[edit] There are many criteria by which superconductors are classified. Superfluid. Fluid which flows without losing kinetic energy Superfluidity is the characteristic property of a fluid with zero viscosity which therefore flows without any loss of kinetic energy.
When stirred, a superfluid forms vortices that continue to rotate indefinitely. Superfluidity occurs in two isotopes of helium (helium-3 and helium-4) when they are liquefied by cooling to cryogenic temperatures. It is also a property of various other exotic states of matter theorized to exist in astrophysics, high-energy physics, and theories of quantum gravity.[1] The semi-phenomenological theory of superfluidity was developed by Soviet theoretical physicists Lev Landau and Isaak Khalatnikov.
Superfluids have some potential practical uses, such as dissolving substances in a quantum solvent. Superfluidity of liquid helium [edit] In liquid helium-4, the superfluidity occurs at far higher temperatures than it does in helium-3. . — Lene Hau, SIAM Conference on Nonlinear Waves and Coherent Structures.