MATTER (PART 1)

MATTER

Matter is described as something that has mass and occupies space. All physical structures are made up of matter, and the state or process of matter is an easily observed property of matter. Strong, liquid, and gas are the three basic states of matter.

Matter is all around you. All atoms and compounds are made up of very small pieces of matter. Such atoms continue to build the everyday things you see and touch. Matter is defined as anything that has mass (it has volume) and takes up space.

Matter is also composed of small particles. Atoms are the particles that makeup matter. Because they are so small you can’t see atoms. Most atoms come together to make up the substance you can see.

Things Made of Matter

Planets, Human, Water, Air, Animals, food, even stars.

Dark Matter

Dark matter accounts for five times as much of the universe as ordinary matter. However, we know little about it other than that it only interacts with ordinary matter through gravity.

Dark matter is made up of particles that do not absorb, reflect, or emit light, making them invisible to electromagnetic radiation. Dark matter is stuff that cannot be seen with the naked eye.

Facts About Dark Matter

Dark matter makes for around 85 percent of total matter in the cosmos, accounting for more than five times the amount of all conventional matter.

Dark matter was crucial in the development of galaxies.

Astronomical surveys are used by researchers to create maps of the location of dark matter in the cosmos based on how light from distant galaxies bends as it travels to us.

STATES OF MATTER

Solids

The constituent particles are always closely packed together in the solid structure. This is because the intermolecular forces between these particles are powerful and stop them from moving freely away from each other. As a result of such construction, a solid has a definite shape, size, and volume. 

Solids possess the least compressibility and thermal expansion. Example: Iron (Fe)

Liquids

The liquid is the incompressible fluid that can take up the shape of its container. However, the liquid has a definite volume that is independent of pressure. 

The volume will remain constant only if the temperature and pressure remain constant. When you heat a solid above its melting point, it changes into the liquid state, and more heat changes it into gas. 

The molecules in a liquid are closely packed due to weak intermolecular forces. The intermolecular interactions among the particles in the liquid are slightly weaker than that of the solids. So, the molecules can move freely and take up the container’s shape. However, the volume of liquids is greater than the corresponding solid.

Generally, the density of liquid lies between the density of solids and gases. Compressibility and thermal expansion of liquids are slightly higher than that of solids. Example: Water (H2O)

Gases

Gas is a compressible fluid with no definite shape or volume.

 The gaseous molecules have enough kinetic energy that makes the intermolecular force between the particles negligible or zero. 

The typical distance between the neighbouring particles is greater than its molecular size(intermolecular distance is in the range of 10-7 – 10-5 cm). Therefore, it can occupy the entire container without a definite shape or volume. 

Translatory, rotatory and vibratory motions are observed prominently in gases.

They also possess high compressibility and thermal expansion. Example: Oxygen (O2)

OTHER STATES OF MATTER

Plasma and BEC

The main difference between plasma and Bose-Einstein condensate is that the plasma state contains a gas of ions and free electrons, whereas Bose-Einstein condensate contains a gas of bosons at low densities, which is cooled to a low temperature close to absolute zero.

Plasma:

Plasma is considered the fourth state of matter. It is a mixture of electrons and ions. 

Plasma is a mixture of electrons and ions.

When pressurized gas is heated at a high temperature, its atoms lose their electrons and become ions, 

 this process continues and finally forms a mixture of ions and electrons that is called plasma.

When electrons are released from an atom, electromagnetic radiations are emitted that comes under visible range and can be seen in the form of light.

Plasma is present in starts, due to which they have their own light.

Plasma can be created on earth, by passing an electric current through a pressurized gas For example in tube lights.

Bose-Einstein Condensate:

It is another state of matter which is encountered only in quantum level about which you will study in higher classes.

Bose-Einstein condensate, or BEC, is one of the best ways to see the weird effects of Quantum Mechanics on a macroscopic scale.

 In essence, BEC is a state of matter that's composed of weakly interacting bosons at a temperature very near absolute zero!

 Once this temperature has been reached, most of the bosons occupy the lowest quantum state of the external potential.

BEC was first predicted by Satyendra Nath Bose and Albert Einstein around 1924.

Elements 

Element is the simplest form of substance that cannot be disintegrated into any other particles. Therefore, every element is formed of its own atom. Examples of elements include oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, etc. 

Any substance that cannot be decomposed into simpler substances by ordinar chemical processes. 

Elements are the fundamental materials of which all matter is composed.

Compounds

A compound is a chemical substance made of two or more atoms of elements linked by strong chemical bonds. Only chemical reactions can break the chemical bonds between these atoms to form new substances. An example is a water molecule that is formed by the chemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen atoms. 

Mixtures

In physics and chemistry, a mixture is made of two or more different chemical substances. But unlike the compounds, these substances are not chemically bonded with each other. Instead, using temperature and pressure, one can easily separate the constituents of a mixture without any chemical reaction. A mixture is available in different forms like colloids, suspensions, solutions, etc. An example is sugar solution, which is a mixture of sugar and water.