Questions tagged [states-of-matter]
Physicists classify matter according to the state of matter, which are gas, liquid and solid. A material is either in one of these states depending on the temperature and/or pressure applied to it. One characterises the state of matter by the mechanical response of a material under pressure.
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Zero Kelvin and Negative Kelvin [duplicate]
Basically the word Temperature (in Kelvin) of the body is the average Kinetic Energy of molecules in a body.
Zero Kelvin is understandable that all molecules kinetic energy is Zero
But what is ...
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Why should the rate of evaporation of liquids depend upon the rate at which the molecules strike the surface?
This paper says:
The development of the kinetic theory of gases led to the conclusion
that the maximum rate at a particular temperature would be given by
the rate at which molecules strike the ...
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Is there a superfluid dual to superinsulators?
It's well known that there are many analogies between Superconductors and Superfluids. The diagram below explains a few:
$$ \begin{matrix} \bf{\text{Superconductors}} \\ \text{0 electrical resistance} ...
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Is there any study of the temperature gradient at the surface of a liquid?
My tiny brain expects liquids to be cooler at the surface due to evaporation. However, I couldn't find any experimental evidence for it.
Is there any study of the temperature gradient at the surface ...
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Could there be states of matter that could avoid "matter decay"?
Regular structures of matter may decay over extremely long periods of time (especially if proton decay occurs, which is not proven but it remains a possibility)
Even if that happens, are there any ...
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Can Bose-Einstein condensates and Fermionic condensates survive for long periods of time in space?
Imagine we have a cold region of the universe, almost devoid of matter and radiation. Or perhaps in a future universe where the CMB has "cooled" down to sufficiently low "temperatures&...
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How are states of matter determined experimentally?
Let's consider for example water. There is the classical phase diagram shown below which depicts the three states liquid, solid, and gaseous. My question is, how were the exact positions of the ...
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When rain clouds are formed, does the entropy decrease?
Water droplets gathered and formed into cloud which gets heavier then does the entropy of the system decreases? If so why 2nd law of thermodynamics allowed it?
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Why does the defroster make the windshield even more foggy at first?
I have noticed that sometimes when I use the defroster, at first the windshield becomes even more foggy, almost impossible to see through. Then, after a while the defroster starts having effect and ...
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Is metallic hydrogen solid or liquid?
If I squeeze hydrogen superhard with 400-500GPa of pressure, it becomes metal so is that solid or liquid? I know gallium melts on my hand and it's metal.
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What are the relations between different classical states of matter? [closed]
This may not a good quesiton I guess, but it is very confusing while I was studying the classical states of matter :- SOLIDS, ...
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Is there a rigorous definition of state of matter? [duplicate]
Solid, liquid, and gas are all states of matter. However, I have never seen a rigorous definition of what a state of matter is. Is there such a definition somewhere? I would like to see such a ...
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Project Scorpius. Can similar goals be pursued with diamond anvil cells?
I just read an article describing the project Scorpius. The aim is to use explosives to compress and heat microscopic quantities of Plutonium in order to study the states of the matter in extreme ...
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How can a cylinder have more gas than its own volume?
I saw the following problem in a book:
In S.T.P., a balloon of diameter 1.004m has to be filled with H2 gas.At 27°C,a cylinder with volume 1 m^3 is filled with H2 gas having 2000 kPa pressure.How many ...
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Material that Changes States with Electricity Passing Through It?
Is there a material out there that can change it's state (gas/liquid/solid) depending on the electric field induced within it?
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Does the kinetic energy of particles affect Sound waves?
We know that sound travels through a medium through vibrations in the form of longitudinal waves. An example of it is here:
We also know that particles of any medium vibrate when we give them more ...
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What happens to matter at extreme temperatures?
Water at absolute zero is, I suppose, ice. At room temperature it's water. At a certain point steam. What happens to it as we approach infinite temperature? (what we might call "absolute" ...
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Question in High pressure high boiling point
I'm Finding it hard to visualize how higher pressure makes the boiling point higher. I understand how pressure increases then temperature increases such that say air molecules compressed gives it ...
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Can Solid takes the shape of its container
My Cambridge Physics Coursebook says that Solid "takes the shape of its container". It is endorsed by Cambridge for IGCSE physics. Is it right?
How is this possible. It is very Clear and ...
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Comparing internal energy of materials at boiling point or melting point
I am in grade 11th and have studied about internal energy that it is function of only temperature and none other quantity. My question is that when a solid melts, or a liquid vaporizes, it does at a ...
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What might get me to the lowest temperature with liquid water?
I'd like to experiment with freeze drying food but the only equipment I own, is a vacuum pump+chamber and an old freezer I wouldn't mind drilling to run a vacuum pipe inside.
However an important ...
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Are two molecules of matter in BEC phase able to occupy the same space at the same time? [duplicate]
An important property of matter taught in grade school is that it occupies space (has a volume, whether it's relatively fixed like a solid or liquid, or depends on pressure like a gas), and that ...
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Is there a clear boundary between states of matter?
Many physical properties of different substances, like melting and boiling points, are known already. They have discrete values at standard pressure (e.g., the boiling point of helium is at 4 K). The ...
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Condensation on Mirror
When taking a hot shower I notice that moisture forms on the surface of my mirror. Mirrors are insulators so why does water vapour condense on the mirror? I've seen explanations that state that when ...
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Incorrect explanation of why states of matter are discrete
There was a question on one of reddit's science communities where what the asker wanted to know is why states of matter are discrete and not a continuous spectrum.
The top answer was: "At the ...
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How does sodium-23 manage to form a Bose Einstein condensate with 11 protons and 11 electrons?
As asked in How is a Bose-Einstein condensate produced from sodium atoms that do not have an integer spin? , Sodium 23 has been used experimentally to form a Bose Einstein condensate.
Sodium 23 is the ...
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Apart from Temperature / Speed , are there other changes when change of state of matter occurs?
Apart from Temperature / Speed , are there other changes when change of state of matter occurs?
Link to Wikipedia State of matter
I want to add - Zero (0) Tag - but I don't have high enough score to ...
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What is beyond the supercritical fluid? [closed]
I always wondered what was beyond the supercritical fluid. At first, I thought there was nothing, but then I thought well there be an ultra-critical fluid.
Is there even a phase beyond it?
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Can plasma be formed entirely by ions?
Plasma can be formed by an altogether combination of ions, free electrons, atoms, and molecules. Searching a little bit on the internet I found that plasma can't be formed entirely by electrons, ...
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Can you go from a gas to a liquid without condensating through supercritical fluids?
If you were to take a gas like co2 and then heat it up and pressurize it in a specific way, would it theoretically be possible to turn the gas to liquid without using condensation? This would be hard ...
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Freezing a supercooled liquid: is there a name for this?
A supercooled liquid, i.e. a liquid below its freezing point (e.g. water), can become solid quickly by a mechanical perturbation.
Is there an official name for this particular kind of phase transition,...
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What are the different conceptualizations/definitions for what a "the state of matter" is?
My understanding:
So, the classic four states of matter are solid, liquid, gaseous and plasma. My understanding is that they differ along the same axis; the cohesion of their constituent parts. This ...
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What would be the consequences of asymptotic freedom and color confinement of QCD for neutron stars?
Neutron stars are conjectured to have densities between $10^{14}$ and $10^{17}\ \text{g/cm}^3$. In the latter limit, the neutrons could be so close that the interaction between them would not be the ...
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Cubic nature of van der Waals' gas equation [duplicate]
$V_m^3-\dfrac{RT+bP}{P}V_m^2+\dfrac{a}{P}V_m-\dfrac{ab}{P}=0$
So, At $T<T_c$ the above equation has three real roots say $V_1,V_2,V_3$, my doubt is what does this mean physically because for some ...
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How does removing air from a vessel of water create bubbles?
I recently started reading Richard Feynmans 'six easy pieces'. I did physics and chemistry combined in secondary school but that was 3 years ago and thought it would be a nice introduction back into ...
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What state of matter is the entire known universe?
What state of matter is the entire known universe? I know it contains all forms, but as it expands into the infinite nothingness, what state of matter does it act as? I know little about physics, but ...
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Is there any relation between condensation and light?
Ok, I realise the question title is kind of stupid. But I don't really know how to summarize it in one line as it's quite a weird, specific situation.
I have a lamp beside my bed on a shelf where I ...
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Interaction of EM radiation with atoms
I have a few questions on the different types of phenomena of light and matter interaction.
I understand there are generally 5 types of ideas. Diffraction, reflection, absorption, emission and ...
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What happens to the composition of a mixed gas plasma when de-ionizes back into a gas
I've been thinking about this question for the past few days, but I'm not very well versed in plasma physics.
I am an aerospace engineering student in my senior year of college. A little while ago, I ...
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Could charm, bottom, and even top matter form under the right circumstances?
Strange matter forms because turning some of the down quarks into strange quarks unlocks lower energy levels, and this can lower the system's overall energy at high densities. If the density was ...
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Has any double slit experiment been performed near 0 kelvin?
That would provide us information on the effect of random atomic vibrations on the interference pattern, as well as on the states of matter. Did we perform such an experiment? If yes, did we observe ...
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Temp and state change of water in a perfect void
Let's say that I was able to instantaneously transport spherical volume of water into a perfect vacuum, with no external gravity present, and no light or heat sources present - a void
Would the ...
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Is helium liquid at 0 K?
I just saw in the dynamic periodic table that He is liquid at $-273.15\ ^\circ \rm C$. Is that true?
How is that even possible? Can someone explain?
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If singular Quarks cannot exist on their own, then how is Quark-Gluon Plasma possible?
To my understanding, QGP is a theoretical form of matter where quarks are freely floating around. I understand immense temperature and pressure is required to form this. Also to my knowledge, quarks ...
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Is a small fragment of a white dwarf stable? [duplicate]
Assuming it is somehow possible to get a small piece of a white dwarf (maybe a dice) and this piece escapes into free space. Would that piece of white dwarf matter keep its density/state, or would it ...
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States of Matter misnomer
Is the phrase "States of matter" a misnomer?
A "state of matter" describes the configuration/structure of atoms and molecules in an object, correct? It would not make sense to ...
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Why do we say that at boiling point liquid and vapour exist in equilibrium?
I understand that at boiling point, vapour pressure becomes equal to the external pressure. But in my textbook it is written that at boiling point liquid and vapour exist in equilibrium. What does it ...
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Proof for the expression of Boyle's temperature
Boyle's temperature is the temperature in which a real gas behaves like an ideal gas under a certain range of pressure. In my book, it is given that Boyle's temperature ($T_{b}$):
$T_{b}=\frac{a}{Rb}$
...
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How can potential energy increase without kinetic energy during phase change?
From what I’ve come across the internet, the reason temperature remains constant during phase transitions is that the energy goes into increasing intermolecular potential energy instead of average ...
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Why, exactly, does temperature remain constant during a change in state of matter?
My counterargument:
Intermolecular forces between molecules are either intact or broken. There is no in-between. Therefore, the change from intact to broken is instantaneous.
Applied heat energy ...
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