solid

Also known as solid matter

thumb|300px|Single crystalline form of solid [[insulin.]]

AI overview

A solid is a state of matter where material has a fixed shape and volume, with its particles tightly packed and held in place by strong forces between them. Solids are important because they make up most of the objects we interact with daily, from the food we eat to the structures we live and work in.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

~37 min read

Encyclopedic overview

26 sections

Contents

Microscopic description
Classes of solids
Metals
Minerals
Ceramics
Glass ceramics
Organic solids
Wood
Polymers
Composite materials
Semiconductors
Nanomaterials
Biomaterials
Physical properties
Mechanical
Thermal
Electrical
Electro-mechanical
Optical
Opto-electronic
Fields of study
Solid-state physics
Solid-state chemistry
Materials science
References
External links

thumb|300px|Single crystalline form of solid [[insulin.]]

Solid is a state of matter in which atoms are closely packed and are difficult to move past each other. Solids resist compression, expansion, or external forces that would alter its shape, with the degree of resistance being dependent upon the specific material under consideration. Solids also always possess the least amount of kinetic energy per atom/molecule relative to other phases or, equivalently stated, solids are formed when matter in the liquid / gas phase is cooled below a certain temperature. This temperature is called the melting point of the substance and is an intrinsic property; i.e. independent of how much of the matter there is. The vast majority of substances, when in the solid state, can be arranged in one of a few ubiquitous structures.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “solid” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.