Solid liquid gas. These aggregated states of matter have been known since school, but there’s actually a lot more to them.
In everyday life, we can observe that the matter around us comes in three clusters: liquid, solid and gaseous. Maybe you remember from school that there is another state of matter – plasma. But research by scientists has shown that matter has much more total states. Until now, scientists have not been able to reach a consensus on exactly what this amount is, but today scientists in the laboratory have either been able to prove the existence of more than 15 total states of matter or have found indirect evidence of their existence. He writes IFLScience.
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What is the state of matter?
The total state of matter is a description of the state of any substance with the same chemical and physical properties. According to scientists, matter can change its state through a phase transition. For example, when solid ice melts, it becomes liquid.
4 classical states of matter
The best known states of matter are solid, liquid, gas and plasma. These states are determined by the volume, shape and general properties of a particular substance. For example, solids have a fixed shape and volume, while liquids take the shape of the container in which they are placed, even though they basically have a fixed volume.
Gas and plasma, on the other hand, have neither a fixed shape nor a fixed volume. The difference between gas and plasma is that plasma is electrically conductive, produces electric current and is highly sensitive to electromagnetic forces.
According to scientists, both solid and liquid substances have their own subspecies, which are very specific bulk states of matter. For example, these are liquid crystals or liquid glass.
In the 20th century, scientists discovered that there were actually more total states of matter than currently known states. But to detect and examine them, it is necessary to influence pressure, high and low temperatures. Thus, substances acquire very unusual properties.
fifth state of matter
Scientists call the fifth state of matter the Bose-Einstein condensation. This only occurs in a very dilute gas of particles such as bosons. At the same time, the temperature should be very low and almost at the level of absolute zero – this is -273.15 degrees Celsius.
Under these conditions, the gas ceases to behave as if it were composed of individual particles and begins to behave as a single macroscopic quantum system. To achieve this state, not only an ultra-low temperature is required, but also an ultra-low density, which corresponds to about one hundred thousandth of the density of air (about 1.2 kg per cubic metre).
Effect of very low temperatures
If a substance is exposed to very low temperatures, it becomes superfluid. Superfluidity is the second state of liquid agglomeration in which a substance can flow over the surface without friction. For example, superfluid substances can easily come out of the containers in which they are placed.
There are also superhard materials and superconductors that move without friction, according to scientists. The latter are substances that have zero electrical resistance below a certain temperature. The above situations also occur under the influence of very low temperatures. Another state of matter is called the Rydberg polaron. In this case, atoms in matter can be inside other atoms.
pressure effect
Another clumping state of matter is a supercritical fluid. When a substance is exposed to very high temperatures and very high pressures, it is not possible to determine whether the substance is a liquid or a gas. In other words, the differences between the liquid and gas phases disappear. This is the supercritical fluid.
If the pressure on matter is increased, electron degeneracy of matter can be achieved, and the nuclei of white dwarf stars are likely composed of this material. In these stars, electrons are in the form of degenerate gas, which is an ideal conductor of heat and behaves like a solid.
If we further increase the pressure on matter, we can obtain the neutron-degenerate state of matter, which is only found in neutron stars. Here, protons and electrons are squeezed together so tightly that they turn into neutrons.
Scientists also point to the existence of another state that occurs under the influence of the highest pressure, and it is called quark-gluon plasma.
quantum properties
Scientists say quantum properties are also important for determining different states of matter. The way things like spinning particles interact can lead to different states of matter, such as quantum spin fluid or spin ice.
According to scientists, new states of matter will be discovered in the near future and only those with circumstantial evidence of their existence will be confirmed.
As already written FocusScientists have created a new map of the distribution of dark matter that actually proves Albert Einstein’s predictions correct.
Source: Focus
Ashley Fitzgerald is an accomplished journalist in the field of technology. She currently works as a writer at 24 news breaker. With a deep understanding of the latest technology developments, Ashley’s writing provides readers with insightful analysis and unique perspectives on the industry.