States of Matter

States of matter is of prime importance to physicists. Everyday elements and compounds form three physical states of matter, however there are many other states, less common but equally important.
The liquid-crystal state of certain compounds has the properties of solids as well as liquids, and is the basis of electronic displays. More states are obtained when the particles are lighter.
The electrons in metals and ceramics undergo a change due to which electricity is conducted without dissipation.

Thus matter is classified mainly into three categories depending upon its physical state namely solid, liquid and gaseous states.

Solids have a definite volume and shape: Definite shape and volume of the solids is result of strong forces of attraction between its constituent particles which keep them together in a fixed position and arrangement.
Liquids also have a definite volume but no definite volume: They take shape of the container in which they are placed. This is due to relatively weaker force of attraction among the particles of liquid.
Gases have neither a definite volume nor a definite shape: They fill the container completely in which they are placed. This is due to the fact that the force of attraction among the particles of liquids is almost zero and they are free to move independently to each other.

We will discuss the gaseous and liquid states of matter in detail under following sub-topics

Distiniction Among Different States of Matter

S.No	Property	Solid	Liquid	Gas
1	Shape	Definite shape	Indefinite shape	Indefinite shape
2	Volume	Definite Volume	Definite Volume	Indefinite Volume
3	Inter particular Forces	Strong Inter particular Forces	Comparatively weaker Inter particular Forces	Inte rparticular forces are negligible
4	Inter particular Space	Negligible inter particular space	Comparatively large inter particular space	Very large Inter particular space
5	Particular Motion	Particle motion is restricted to vibratory motion.	Particle motion is very slow	Particle motion is very rapid and also random.
6	Packing of Particles	Particles are very Closely packed	Particles are loosely packed	Particles are very loosely packed
7	Compressibility	Incompressible	Compressible	Highly Compressible
8	Density	Very High Density	Low Density	Very low density

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