Physical Properties Of Matter

Matter is matter!! Confused? Surely we know you are, but may be the scientific data can assist you in working this thing out. According to the simplest scientific definition available, “Matter is anything that has mass and occupies space or volume”. Though in recent years even this concept has seen numerous challenges, we can still say that this will be the definition that is going to stay with us for a few more years, at least. Matter constitutes our universe. It starts from the most basic units that are even smaller than the atoms and makes up the stars, galaxies and the universe itself. The most incredible manifestation of matter may be termed as life. Life is incredible as it hosts some truly marvelous aspects which are not included under the concept of matter or physical presence, but into spiritual and ideological feature known as conscience. Though in the modern commercial world, people seldom listen to their conscience, its presence is still essential for our existence. Enough said, let’s move to the physical aspects of matter. Before listing out the basic features, we wish to let you know that there are multiple theories to define matter in the universe and thus we will try to summarize the best points from all of them.

States Of Matter

Physical properties of matter are those which can be measured without changing the composition of the substance. There are the properties which are used to identify, distinguish, observe and describe matter.
The most important physical property of matter is known as the ‘state’ of the matter. The three states of matter are: solid, liquid, and gas. The melting point and boiling point are related to changes of the state of matter. All matter may exist in any of three physical states of matter.
A solid has a definite shape and volume, a liquid has a definite volume, but can change shape and in the case of gases the shape and volume both can change.
Though solid , liquid and gas are considered the three states of the matter another school of physics classifies it into just two ‘phases’- Solid and Fluid.
Melting point is the property of matter which tells us about the ambient temperature at which the solid starts to melt or liquidize. The temperature remains the same till the whole of the solid is turned into liquid. The heat energy used up in the process is called the latent heat of fusion.
Boiling point is the property of matter which tells us the ambient temperature at which the matter will change from liquid state to gaseous state. The temperature does remain constant throughout this process. The heat energy used up in the process is called the latent heat of vaporization.
Some quantities are known as latent heat due to the fact that these energies are not measurable normally. In normal conditions, whenever we supply energy to the matter, its temperature increases and thus we can derive the quantity of heat. But in conditions where latent heat is involved, the heat is used up for breaking the bonds between molecules. This heat is not visible on the measuring devices. This is why it is called latent or hidden.
Some types of substances do not have a liquid form and they go from solid state straight to gaseous states. They are known as sublime products and the process is called sublimation. The point of sublimation is usually the same as melting point.
There are always some basic physical quantities that one can measure. This include the dimensions; i.e. length, breadth and height, the relative position in space, velocity, acceleration, emissive, conductive it and so on. From these, we can derive further physical quantities, which can help in the study of that particular type of matter.

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Physical Properties Of Matter

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