solid: Quick Facts

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Facts

Also Known As	solid state

Photos

Diagram showing four physical states of matter: solid with tightly packed molecules, liquid with loosely packed molecules, gas with widely spaced molecules, and plasma with free electrons and nuclei, each labeled with descriptions and an arrow indicating increasing energy.

A side-by-side diagram compares atomic motion in a liquid and a solid; the liquid shows atoms with tangled, overlapping paths, while the solid shows atoms vibrating in fixed, orderly positions.

Diagram showing the phase changes of matter with three circles labeled solid, liquid, and gas. Arrows indicate transitions: melting and freezing between solid and liquid, evaporation and condensation between liquid and gas, and sublimation and deposition between solid and gas.

An illustration shows an ice cube labeled solid, a puddle labeled liquid, and rising steam labeled gas, representing the three states of matter: ice, water, and water vapor, with the sun in the background.

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Topics

string crystal amorphous solid quasicrystal elasticity molecular binding absorption covalent solid linearly elastic solid porosity liquid gas plasma radiation chemical bonding chemical element subatomic particle atom electricity chemical compound

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Key People

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Carl Wagner

German chemist and metallurgist

P.W. Bridgman

Percy Williams Bridgman

American physicist

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Louis-Eugène-Félix Néel

French physicist

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Felix Bloch

American physicist