Submitted by Zalack t3_11x4f9t in askscience
OPossumHamburger t1_jd5ei1k wrote
Reply to comment by florinandrei in Can a single atom be determined to be in any particular phase of matter? by Zalack
Phases of matter are more than convenient classifications of multiple atoms.
Because of their states, they exhibit different physical properties including changes in electrical conductance.
yakbrine t1_jd5k2pr wrote
His point to my understanding is that is kind of the point. There’s probably tons of variables like this for every solid and liquid. And the sole fact they are solid or liquid does not give them said properties or everything would be identical. The point being everything is extremely nuanced and we’ve created these categorizations so we don’t have to define everything as a mathematical equation instead of ‘solid gas liquid’
florinandrei t1_jd6br1i wrote
> they exhibit different physical properties including changes in electrical conductance
Of course they do. I'm just saying - the borders between them are far more fuzzy than most people imagine.
E.g. consider the changes that occur in tar or pitch when cooled from the boiling point of water to the boiling point of nitrogen. It's liquid at one end. It's solid at the other. The changes are smooth, without any sharp transitions.
[deleted] t1_jdx9h3a wrote
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NeverPlayF6 t1_jd5w6tb wrote
Since states are defined by how "they exhibit different physical properties," how many N2 atoms does it take to behave like a solid/liquid/gas in any given system?
Angdrambor t1_jd7xac3 wrote
It sounds extremely convenient to me, to be able to model bulk properties like conductance instead of modeling individual atoms.
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