States of Matter

Matter is anything that has mass, and is all around us. Matter is the things we see and
touch, and it is the air we breathe. Matter is put into certain states: solids, liquids, gases, plasma,
and Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC). Matter is usually put into the 3 major states, which are
liquids, solids, and gases; but people forget plasma and Bose-Einstein condensate. Atoms and
molecules are the particles that make up matter. The sun is the source of all the states of matter,
since it is the hottest thing in the universe. Solids are when the atoms are tightly packed together,
and have a high density. A solid keep sits own shape and is hard to compress, while keeping its
shape at room temperature. For liquids, the atoms are moving past each other and move around.
A liquid takes the shape of the container it is in, and is easier to compress than solids. Liquids
dont hold their shape at room temperature like solids do, and they are affected by gravity; so
when you pour half a glass of water, the top half of the glass will be empty. Gases do not hold
their shape at room temperature nor do they stay in one place. The atoms in a gas are moving
around everywhere and can be compressed into a smaller space. They tend to strike against each
other, when they are moving around all over the place. A gas will fill the container it is in, but if
the container is not sealed the gas will escape into the air. When gases are heated its atoms break
apart into charged particles which then turns the gas into plasma. Plasma is similar to gases,
because plasma is a gas that carries an electrical charge. When the atoms in plasma are full of
energy, they jump at an energy level and give off light; so plasma is usually found in lightning.
The suns plasma is extremely hot, and its charged particles can break through the suns gravity
and move into space. This plasma is called the solar wind, and with that comes the suns
magnetic field; which goes all the way to Neptune, Pluto, and other atmospheres. For BoseEinstein condensates, the atoms start acting like little waves and overlap each other until they
later act like one wave and become a superatom. This happens only when the temperature for
molecular motion stops, and it is a tiny bit above absolute zero. The states of matter are
constantly changing states. When it hails, the liquid rain turns into solid ice, and then when the
water is evaporated it turns into a gas. When you boil water, some of the liquid turns into gas.

Zell, Holly. NASA-Sun-Earth Connection. THEMIS (Time History of Events and Macroscale
Interactions During Substorms). 31 July. 2015.
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/themis/auroras/sun_earth_connect.html
http://sciencelearn.org.nz/Science-Stories/Strange-Liquids/States-of-matter. Science Learning
Hub. The University of Waikato. 12 April. 2010.
Cunningham, Moore, Laura. http://idahoptv.org/sciencetrek/topics/matter/facts.cfm. Idaho State
Board of Education. 2016.