Four states of matter are observable in everyday life: solid, liquid, gas, and plasma.
Explanation:
Matter is the "stuff" that makes up the universe — everything that takes up space and has mass is matter.
All matter is made up of atoms, which are in turn made up of protons, neutrons and electrons.
Atoms come together to form molecules, which are the building blocks for all types of matter, according to Washington State University. Both atoms and molecules are held together by a form of potential energy called chemical energy. Unlike kinetic energy, which is the energy of an object in motion, potential energy is the energy stored in an object.
The five phases of matter
There are four natural states of matter: Solids, liquids, gases and plasma. The fifth state is the man-made Bose-Einstein condensates.
Solids
In a solid, particles are packed tightly together so they don't move much. The electrons of each atom are constantly in motion, so the atoms have a small vibration, but they are fixed in their position. Because of this, particles in a solid have very low kinetic energy.
Solids have a definite shape, as well as mass and volume, and do not conform to the shape of the container in which they are placed. Solids also have a high density, meaning that the particles are tightly packed together.
Liquids
In a liquid, the particles are more loosely packed than in a solid and are able to flow around each other, giving the liquid an indefinite shape. Therefore, the liquid will conform to the shape of its container.
Much like solids, liquids (most of which have a lower density than solids) are incredibly difficult to compress.
Gases
In a gas, the particles have a great deal of space between them and have high kinetic energy. A gas has no definite shape or volume. If unconfined, the particles of a gas will spread out indefinitely; if confined, the gas will expand to fill its container. When a gas is put under pressure by reducing the volume of the container, the space between particles is reduced and the gas is compressed.
Plasma
Plasma is not a common state of matter here on Earth, but it may be the most common state of matter in the universe, according to the Jefferson Laboratory. Stars are essentially superheated balls of plasma.
Plasma consists of highly charged particles with extremely high kinetic energy. The noble gases (helium, neon, argon, krypton, xenon and radon) are often used to make glowing signs by using electricity to ionize them to the plasma state.
Bose-Einstein condensate
The Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) was created by scientists in 1995. Using a combination of lasers and magnets, Eric Cornell and Carl Weiman, scientists at the Joint Institute for Lab Astrophysics (JILA) in Boulder, Colorado, cooled a sample of rubidium to within a few degrees of absolute zero. At this extremely low temperature, molecular motion comes very close to stopping. Since there is almost no kinetic energy being transferred from one atom to another, the atoms begin to clump together. There are no longer thousands of separate atoms, just one "super atom."
A BEC is used to study quantum mechanics on a macroscopic level. Light appears to slow down as it passes through a BEC, allowing scientists to study the particle/wave paradox. A BEC also has many of the properties of a superfluid, or a fluid that flows without friction. BECs are also used to simulate conditions that might exist in black holes.
