visacas.blogg.se - What is matter made of

Plasma is a gas that is electrically charged.

Many people think steam or clouds are water vapor, but they are actually tiny droplets of liquid water, not gaseous water. It is difficult to capture a photograph of water in a gaseous form. In a gas, the molecules of water are relatively far apart and are free to move at high speeds.

As a gas, water vapor is free to move great distances through the atmosphere.

In most other substances, the molecules of the solid are closer together than the molecules of the liquid (Fig. Re actually farther apart in the solid state than in the liquid state.

Water is a unique substance because its molecules a In a solid, the molecules of water are relatively close together, but are held in a distinct shape. 1.5 A).Īs a solid, water takes a definite shape, as in a snowflake, ice cube, or glacier. In a liquid, the molecules of water are relatively close together and are free to move around each other (Fig. As a liquid, water flows and takes the shape of the ocean, lakes, and river basins.

This makes water a good model for discussing the solid, liquid, and gas states of matter. Not only is water the most common substance on earth, but it is also the only substance that commonly appears as a solid, a liquid, and a gas within the normal range of earth’s temperatures. On earth, solid, liquid, and gas are the most common states of matter. There are four fundamental states of matter: solid, liquid, gas, and plasma.