States of Matter

Matter is the substance of which all things are made. All objects consist of matter. The objects may differ widely from one another. But they have one thing in common, that they all occupy space. As a result, anything that takes up space is typically considered matter by scientists. All matter has inertia. This means that it resists any change in its condition of rest or of motion. An object's mass is the amount of matter it contains. but scientists usually prefer to define a mass as a measure of inertia. The earth's gravitational attraction for a given mass gives matter its weight. The farther an object travels from the earth's center, the less gravity pulls on it. For this reason, objects that move from the earth into outer space lose weight even though their masses remain the same. Any object that requires space to exist and has weight is generally called matter. Matter has seven main states.

1. Solid

One of the three possible states of matter is referred to as a solid. The other states are liquid and gaseous. The state of each body of matter is classified according to the power of its molecules to resist forces that may change its shape. A solid has a fixed shape and volume because its molecules cannot move freely.

2. Liquids

Substances that have no definite shape, have a definite volume, and can take on any shape.

3. Gases

Gases are substances that have no definite shape or volume and the distance between their molecules is very large.

4. Plasma

Plasma in physics is a form of matter composed of electrically charged atomic particles. Plasma makes up the sun, other stars, and the majority of other celestial bodies. Lightning bolts also consist of plasma, few other plasma occurs naturally on the earth. Artificially created plasmas have many practical uses. Electricity, for instance, transforms the gas in a neon sign's tube into plasma that emits light. A welding process called arc welding uses electricity to produce the high temperatures needed to join pieces of metal. In the future, plasma fuels may be used by electric rockets to make lengthy space voyages. Plasma can be made by heating a gas or by passing an electric current through it. It is the fourth state of matter.

Examples of Plasma

• The state in which matter is most abundant in the universe.

• The state in which matter is found in the center of the sun and stars.

• The reason for the glow of the sun and stars.

• Plasma is created in stars due to very high temperatures.

• In the plasma state, particles are found in a super energetic / excited state.

• Plasma is found in fluorescent tubes and neon sign bulbs.

• The state in which molecules are found in the most disordered state.

• The state in which matter reaches very high temperatures.

• The state of matter in which substances exist in an ionized state at high temperatures.

• The state in which matter is found in lightning.

• A group of free charged particles.

5. Bose - Einstein Condensate

A Bose - Einstein Condensate is a state of matter that results when a gas of bosons is cooled to a temperature very close to the Kelvin by subjecting it to an external potential. The Bose - Einstein Condensate was predicted by scientists Satyendranath Bose and Albert Einstein. In 2001, Eric A Cornell, Wolfgang Ketterle, and Carl.E.Weimann were awarded the Nobel Prize for their work on Bose-Einstein condensates in dilute gases of alkali atoms and for their early studies of the properties of condensates. It is the fifth state of matter.

6. Fermionic Condensate

A Fermionic Condensate is a state of matter formed by the aggregation of Fermionic particles at low temperatures. The first atomic fermionic condensate was discovered by a team led by Deborah S. Jin using potassium-40 atoms in 2003. It is the sixth state of matter.

7. Quark - Gluon Plasma

Quark - Gluon Plasma is a state of matter at very high temperatures. Quarks are the fundamental elementary particles found in all matter in the universe. The quark model was independently proposed by physicists Murray Gell-Mann and George Zweig in 1964. Hadrons are particles made up of quarks. It is the seventh state of matter.

Newly discovered states of matter

1. Time Crystal

A time crystal is a man-made state of matter appears to remain in perpetual motion without taking in any energy - which should be impossible.

2. Excitonium

Excitonium is a condensate that exhibits the macroscopic quantum phenomena, such as a superconductor, superfluid or insulating electronic crystal.

3. Rydberg Matter

Rydberg Matter is a material made up of excited atoms. At a certain temperature, these atoms split into ions and electrons.

4. Jahn–Teller Metal

In 1937, scientists Arthur Jahn and Edward Teller reported on Jahn–Teller Metal. The presence of Jahn–Teller Metal was discovered in an experiment using rubidium atoms at temperatures close to absolute zero. Jahn–Teller Metal is a material formed from the unique chemical bonding of atoms in a molecule called Buckminster fullerene, which is made up of carbon 60 atoms. Fullerides are molecules made by transferring other atoms to fullerene molecules, which only contain carbon atoms. Jahn–Teller Metal acts as an electrical conductor and an electrical insulator at the same time. Jahn–Teller Metal is a state where metal, magnetism, insulator, and superconductivity come together. Jahn–Teller Metal exhibits superconductivity even at the highest temperatures. Jahn–Teller Metal is the ninth state of matter.

5. Quantum spin liquid

A quantum spin liquid is a material with a two-dimensional structure similar to graphene. In this material, electrons are in the Majorana fermion state. Majorana fermion is a state in which electrons are both particles and antiparticles at the same time. In magnetic materials, electrons behave like bar magnets. In this state, electrons do not behave like bar magnets even when the temperature is reduced to absolute zero.

6. Chain melted state

The Chain melted state is a state of matter discovered by scientists at the University of Edinburgh. The Chain melted state is a state in which atoms in a substance appear as solids and liquids at high pressures and temperatures.