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In a solid, constituent particles (ions, atoms, or molecules) are closely packed together. The forces between particles are so strong that the particles cannot move freely but can only vibrate. As a result, a solid has a stable, definite shape, and a definite volume. Solids can only change their shape by an outside force, as when broken or cut.
Solid: A solid holds a definite shape and volume without the need of a container. The particles are held very close to each other. Amorphous solid: A solid in which there is no far-range order of the positions of the atoms. Crystalline solid: A solid in which atoms, molecules, or ions are packed in regular order.
Solid-state physics is the study of rigid matter, or solids, through methods such as solid-state chemistry, quantum mechanics, crystallography, electromagnetism, and metallurgy. It is the largest branch of condensed matter physics. Solid-state physics studies how the large-scale properties of solid materials result from their atomic-scale ...
Plasma is called the fourth state of matter after solid, liquid, and gas. [16] [17] [18] It is a state of matter in which an ionized substance becomes highly electrically conductive to the point that long-range electric and magnetic fields dominate its behaviour. [19] [20]
In physics, matter is sometimes equated with particles that exhibit rest mass (i.e., that cannot travel at the speed of light), such as quarks and leptons. However, in both physics and chemistry, matter exhibits both wave-like and particle-like properties (the so-called wave–particle duality). [9] [10] [11]
Condensed matter physics is the field of physics that deals with the macroscopic and microscopic physical properties of matter, especially the solid and liquid phases, that arise from electromagnetic forces between atoms and electrons. More generally, the subject deals with condensed phases of matter: systems of many constituents with strong ...
Simplified one-dimensional model of a periodic crystal potential terminating at an ideal surface. At the surface, the model potential jumps abruptly to the vacuum level (solid line). The dashed line represents a more realistic picture, where the potential reaches the vacuum level over some distance. Figure 2. Real part of the type of solution ...
astrophysics, the physics in the universe, including the properties and interactions of celestial bodies in astronomy; atmospheric physics is the application of physics to the study of the atmosphere; space physics is the study of plasmas as they occur naturally in the Earth's upper atmosphere (aeronomy) and within the Solar System