If the temperature is decreased, the distances between the molecules become smaller. When a liquid reaches its boiling point, the cohesive forces that bind the molecules closely together break, and the liquid changes to its gaseous state (unless superheating occurs). As the temperature increases, the increased vibrations of the molecules causes distances between the molecules to increase. They are able to move around one another freely, resulting in a limited degree of particle mobility. Liquid particles are bound firmly but not rigidly. These properties make a liquid suitable for applications such as hydraulics. Unlike a gas, a liquid is nearly incompressible, meaning that it occupies nearly a constant volume over a wide range of pressures it does not generally expand to fill available space in a container but forms its own surface, and it may not always mix readily with another liquid. If liquid is placed in a bag, it can be squeezed into any shape. A liquid can flow, assume the shape of a container, and, if placed in a sealed container, will distribute applied pressure evenly to every surface in the container. The forces that bind the molecules together in a solid are only temporary in a liquid, allowing a liquid to flow while a solid remains rigid.Ī liquid, like a gas, displays the properties of a fluid.
Unlike a solid, the molecules in a liquid have a much greater freedom to move. Liquid is one of the four primary states of matter, with the others being solid, gas and plasma.
#Liquid definition full#
Thermal image of a sink full of hot water with cold water being added, showing how the hot and the cold water flow into each other. Most known matter in the universe is either gas (as interstellar clouds) or plasma (as stars). Unlike a gas, a liquid maintains a fairly constant density and does not disperse to fill every space of a container.Īlthough liquid water is abundant on Earth, this state of matter is actually the least common in the known universe, because liquids require a relatively narrow temperature/pressure range to exist. Like a gas, a liquid is able to flow and take the shape of a container.
On the other hand, as liquids and gases share the ability to flow, they are both called fluids.Ī liquid is made up of tiny vibrating particles of matter, such as atoms, held together by intermolecular bonds. Therefore, liquid and solid are both termed condensed matter. The density of a liquid is usually close to that of a solid, and much higher than that of a gas.
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. A liquid is a nearly incompressible fluid that conforms to the shape of its container but retains a nearly constant volume independent of pressure.
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