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The physical properties of solids have been common subjects of scientific inquiry for centuries, but a separate field going by the name of solid-state physics did not emerge until the 1940s, in particular with the establishment of the Division of Solid State Physics (DSSP) within the American Physical Society. The DSSP catered to industrial ...
Simple illustration of particles in the solid state – they are closely packed to each other. In a solid, constituent particles (ions, atoms, or molecules) are closely packed together. The forces between particles are so strong that the particles cannot move freely but can only vibrate. As a result, a solid has a stable, definite shape, and a ...
The IUPAC definition of a solid solution is a "solid in which components are compatible and form a unique phase". [3]The definition "crystal containing a second constituent which fits into and is distributed in the lattice of the host crystal" given in refs., [4] [5] is not general and, thus, is not recommended.
The scientific definition of a "crystal" is based on the microscopic arrangement of atoms inside it, called the crystal structure. A crystal is a solid where the atoms form a periodic arrangement. (Quasicrystals are an exception, see below). Not all solids are crystals.
Although the term fluid generally includes both the liquid and gas phases, its definition varies among branches of science. Definitions of solid vary as well, and depending on field, some substances can have both fluid and solid properties. [2] Non-Newtonian fluids like Silly Putty appear to behave similar to a solid when a sudden force is ...
Most liquids freeze by crystallization, formation of crystalline solid from the uniform liquid. This is a first-order thermodynamic phase transition, which means that as long as solid and liquid coexist, the temperature of the whole system remains very nearly equal to the melting point due to the slow removal of heat when in contact with air, which is a poor heat conductor.
Water vapour from humid winter-air deposits directly into a solid, crystalline frost pattern on a window, without ever being liquid in the process. Deposition is the phase transition in which gas transforms into solid without passing through the liquid phase. Deposition is a thermodynamic process.
In this definition, there is a critical pressure and an associated critical density, and when nuclear matter (made of protons and neutrons) is compressed beyond this density, the protons and neutrons dissociate into quarks, yielding quark matter (probably strange matter). The narrower meaning is quark matter that is more stable than nuclear matter.