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The state or phase of a given set of matter can change depending on pressure and temperature conditions, transitioning to other phases as these conditions change to favor their existence; for example, solid transitions to liquid with an increase in temperature. Near absolute zero, a substance exists as a solid.
The propensity for any two substances to form a solid solution is a complicated matter involving the chemical, crystallographic, and quantum properties of the substances in question. Substitutional solid solutions, in accordance with the Hume-Rothery rules, may form if the solute and solvent have: Similar atomic radii (15% or less difference)
Quasicrystal: A solid in which the positions of the atoms have long-range order, but this is not in a repeating pattern. Different structural phases of polymorphic materials are considered to be different states of matter in the Landau theory. For an example, see Ice § Phases. Liquid: A mostly non-compressible fluid. Able to conform to the ...
Some chemical substances can be combined or converted into new substances by means of chemical reactions. Chemicals that do not possess this ability are said to be inert. Pure water is an example of a chemical substance, with a constant composition of two hydrogen atoms bonded to a single oxygen atom (i.e. H 2 O).
Many solid chemical substances—for example many silicate minerals—are chemical substances, but do not have simple formulae reflecting chemically bonding of elements to one another in fixed ratios; even so, these crystalline substances are often called "non-stoichiometric compounds".
Amorphous solids is an important area of condensed matter physics aiming to understand these substances at high temperatures of glass transition and at low temperatures towards absolute zero. From the 1970s, low-temperature properties of amorphous solids were studied experimentally in great detail.
The sudden application of force—by stabbing the surface with a finger, for example, or rapidly inverting the container holding it—causes the fluid to behave like a solid rather than a liquid. This is the "shear thickening" property of this non-Newtonian fluid. More gentle treatment, such as slowly inserting a spoon, will leave it in its ...
Typically, a molecular solid is ductile when it has isotropic intermolecular interactions. This allows for dislocation between layers of the crystal much like metals. [5] [8] [11] For example, plastic crystals are soft, resemble waxes and are easily deformed. One example of a ductile molecular solid, that can be bent 180°, is hexachlorobenzene ...