20 Examples of States of Matter

The States of the material, also known as states of aggregation of matter, are the different ways in which matter occurs in the known universe. For example: the solid state, the liquid state, the gaseous state and the plasmatic state.

The different states of aggregation of matter appear depending on the intensity of the interaction forces between the particles that make up said matter. In this sense, each matter presents different forces of attraction and mobility between the particles that compose it, and this is what causes it to present different states of aggregation.

Temperature and pressure are the factors that determine how the particles aggregate or group to form the different states of aggregation. In this sense, the states of aggregation of matter can be classified as:

Conventional aggregation states of matter, which depend on temperature and pressure.

• Solid state
• Liquid state
• gaseous state
• plasma state

Unconventional aggregation states of matter, which do not occur in the commonly known environment, but in laboratories.

• Bose-Einstein condensate
• Fermionic condensate

• See also: Solid, liquid and gaseous fuels

Solid state

The solid state is characterized by having its particles together, and in almost all cases, quite ordered.

The particles that form solid substances have great cohesion (attractive forces that keep the particles that form a substance together). Solids are incompressible and have a defined shape and volume.

Some examples of solids are:

• Glass
• Timber
• The rocks
• The plastic
• The ice
• table salt
• The sugar

Liquid state

The solid state is characterized by having its particles less close together than the solid, but closer together than the gas.

The particles that form liquid substances have a cohesion intermediate between solids and gases. Liquids are quite incompressible. They have a defined volume, but no defined shape: they take the shape of the container that contains them.

Some examples of liquids are:

1. Water
2. The milk
3. The alcohol
4. Oil
5. Acetone
6. chloroform
7. The vinegar

gaseous state

The gaseous state is characterized by having its particles separated.

The particles that make up gaseous substances are not cohesive and disperse very easily. Gases have no fixed shape or volume, and are very compressible.

Some examples of gases are:

1. The air
2. The Oxigen
3. Hydrogen
4. helium
5. Hydrogen
6. The neon
7. Carbon dioxide

plasma state

The plasmatic state is characterized by being similar to the gaseous state, but with the particularity that the particles that form it are electrically charged. For this reason, plasma can be considered an ionized gas. Plasma has no defined shape or volume.

Some examples of plasma are:

1. The fire
2. The rays
3. neon lights
4. The Northern Lights

Changes in the state of matter

Changes in the state of aggregation are the transformations that matter undergoes between the different states of aggregation, without changes occurring in its composition. The most common aggregation state changes are:

solid to liquid

• Fusion. It is the transformation from solid to liquid state. It occurs when heat is applied to the solid until its temperature reaches the melting point (the temperature at which the solid transforms into a liquid).

liquid to solid

• Solidification. It is the transformation of liquid state to solid when the liquid is compressed.
• Freezing. It is the transformation from the liquid to the solid state when the liquid is cooled until its temperature drops below its freezing point (the temperature at which the liquid transforms into solid).

Liquid to gas

• Boiling. It is the transformation of liquid to gaseous state when heat is applied to the liquid, until the entire mass of the liquid reaches the boiling point (at temperature at which the vapor pressure of the liquid becomes equal to the pressure surrounding the liquid), and then becomes vapor.
• Evaporation. It is the transformation from the liquid to the gaseous state when enough heat is applied to the liquid to break its surface tension. Evaporation is a process that occurs slowly and gradually.

Gaseous to liquid

• Condensation. It is the transformation from the gaseous state to the liquid state when the gas is cooled.

solid to gas

• Sublimation. It is the transformation from the solid state to the gaseous state without previously passing through the liquid state. It occurs when the solid is at a lower pressure and temperature than the pressure at which it could exist as a liquid.

Gaseous to solid

• Reverse sublimation or deposition. It is the transformation from the gaseous state to the solid state without previously passing through the liquid state. It occurs at very low and specific temperatures, to which the chemical compound that undergoes this type of transition.

Follow with:

• Solids
• Liquids
• Solids, liquids and gases

References

• Marcilla, A. (2013). Calculation of liquid-vapor balance. Balance diagrams.Material Transfer Separation Operations I. University of Alicante. Teaching – Engineering and Architecture – Educational Resources.
• Dobkin, D., & Zuraw, M. K. (2003). Principles of chemical vapor deposition. Springer Science & Business Media.
• EcuRed contributors (2023) “Reverse Sublimation” At: www.ecured.cu Available at: https://www.ecured.cu/ Accessed: October 19, 2023