16 States of Matters Definition

Crystalline solid

A crystalline solid is a type of solid whose fundamental three-dimensional structure consists of a highly regular pattern of atoms or molecules, forming a crystal lattice.

Liquid

A liquid is a nearly incompressible fluid that conforms to the shape of its container but retains a (nearly) constant volume independent of pressure. As such, it is one of the four fundamental states of matter (the others being solid, gas, and plasma), and is the only state with a definite volume but no fixed shape.

Non-Newtonian fluid

A non-Newtonian fluid is a fluid that does not follow Newton's law of viscosity, i.e., constant viscosity independent of stress. In non-Newtonian fluids, viscosity can change when under force to either more liquid or more solid. Ketchup, for example, becomes runnier when shaken and is thus a non-Newtonian fluid.

Plastic crystal

A plastic crystal is a crystal composed of weakly interacting molecules that possess some orientational or conformational degree of freedom. The name plastic crystal refers to the mechanical softness of such phases: they resemble waxes and are easily deformed.

Quasi-crystal

A quasiperiodic crystal, or quasicrystal, is a structure that is ordered but not periodic. A quasicrystalline pattern can continuously fill all available space, but it lacks translational symmetry.

Super critical fluid

A supercritical fluid is any substance at a temperature and pressure above its critical point, where distinct liquid and gas phases do not exist. It can effuse through solids like a gas, and dissolve materials like a liquid.

Degenerate matter

Degenerate matter is a highly dense state of fermionic matter in which particles must occupy high states of kinetic energy to satisfy the Pauli exclusion principle. The description applies to matter composed of electrons, protons, neutrons or other fermions.

Neutron-degenerate matter

Degenerate matter is a highly dense state of fermionic matter in which particles must occupy high states of kinetic energy to satisfy the Pauli exclusion principle. The description applies to matter composed of electrons, protons, neutrons or other fermions.

Disordered hyper uniformity

Disordered hyperuniformity is a type of liquid or amorphous solid which has crystal properties. It greatly suppresses variations in the density of particles, like a crystal, and the particles have the same physical properties in all directions at shorter distances, like a liquid or a glass.

Electron-degenerate matter

Electron degenerate matter is a form of degenerate matter in which the weight of overlying material tries to force all of the electrons surrounding the atomic nucleus into the lowest energy quantum state.

Gas

Gas is a state of matter that has no fixed shape and no fixed volume. Gases have lower density than other states of matter, such as solids and liquids. There is a great deal of empty space between particles, which have a lot of kinetic energy. ... The particles exert more force on the interior volume of the container.

Amorphous solid

In condensed matter physics and materials science, an amorphous or non-crystalline solid is a solid that lacks the long-range order that is characteristic of a crystal. In some older books, the term has been used synonymously with glass.

Liquid crystal

Liquid crystals are a state of matter which has properties between those of conventional liquids and those of solid crystals. For instance, a liquid crystal may flow like a liquid, but its molecules may be oriented in a crystal-like way.

Plasma

Plasma is one of the four fundamental states of matter, and was first described by chemist Irving Langmuir in the 1920s. It consists of a gas of ions - atoms which have some of their orbital electrons removed - and free electrons

Quark-gluon plasma

Quark-gluon plasma is a state of matter in which the elementary particles that make up the hadrons of baryonic matter are freed of their strong attraction for one another under extremely high energy densities. These particles are the quarks and gluons that compose baryonic matter.

Solid

Solid is the state in which matter maintains a fixed volume and shape; liquid is the state in which matter adapts to the shape of its container but varies only slightly in volume; and gas is the state in which matter expands to occupy the volume and shape of its container.