How Many Types of Solids are There

Edited By Team Careers360 | Updated on Apr 20, 2023 11:12 AM IST

Introduction

Depending on how they are structurally organised, solids can be divided into two categories.One of the four basic states of matter, along with liquid, gas, and plasma, is solid. The least kinetic energy is held by molecules that are tightly packed together in a solid. An object that is solid has a rigid structure and can withstand forces applied to its surface. A solid object does not flow to conform to the shape of its container as a liquid does, nor does it expand to take up the entire space as gas does. A solid's atoms are connected to one another either in an orderly geometric lattice, as in the case of crystalline solids like metals and common ice, or in an amorphous solid, like common window glass. While gases can be compressed with little pressure because their molecules are loosely packed, solids cannot be compressed under low pressure.

Solid-state physics, the primary subfield of condensed matter physics (which also includes liquids), is the branch of physics that studies solids. Solids' physical and chemical characteristics are the main focus of materials science. Solid-state chemists are particularly interested in the study of chemical composition, identification, and the synthesis of new materials.

Solid

Instead of moving around, solid molecules merely vibrate and rotate in place. The attractive forces between the atoms, ions, or molecules in solids are very strong, and solids are typically held together by ionic or strong covalent bonding. In fact, these forces are so powerful that the motion of the particles within a solid is essentially non-existent and they are held in fixed positions. Solids are impermeable to all forms of compression, have fixed shapes, and have fixed volumes.

Properties of Solids: Physical and Chemical

As a result of the close arrangement of the constituent particles and the incompressibility of solids, there is hardly any space between them.
Solids are fixed or rigid because there is not enough room between their component particles.
Solids have compact arrangements of their constituent particles because they have definite mass, volume, and shape.
Molecules are close together and have a short intermolecular distance. As a result, there is a strong force between the atoms, molecules, or ions that make up the system.
Only the mean positions of the constituent particles can oscillate.

Based on their atomic arrangement, solids are divided into two groups:

Crystalline solids: They are made up of their constituent atoms, ions, or molecules in a predictable, regular arrangement. Unit cells, which are like bricks in a wall in that they are all identical and repeat, are the smallest repeating pattern of crystalline solids.

Amorphous solids: There is not much order in the architecture of amorphous solids. Although their molecules are densely packed and have limited space for movement, unlike those in crystalline materials, they are not ordered in a regular pattern. Two prevalent examples of this sort of solid are plastic and glass.

Depending on the substance and the circumstances of formation, a solid may be crystalline or amorphous. Solids created by slow cooling have a tendency to be crystalline, whereas solids created by rapid freezing are more likely to be amorphous. Similar to this, the particular crystal structure a crystalline solid adopts depends on the material and the formation process used.

Many other materials are composites of multiple distinct components, in contrast to many everyday objects, like an ice cube or a coin, which have a chemical composition that remains constant throughout. A typical rock, for instance, is an amalgam of various minerals and mineraloids with no particular chemical makeup. A naturally occurring organic substance called wood is made primarily of cellulose fibres that are encased in an organic lignin matrix. Composites made up of multiple constituent materials can be engineered in materials science to have specific characteristics.

1. Crystalline Solids

Solids known as crystalline solids have a specific arrangement and organisation of the elements of matter. The structure of these solids is crystals, and each crystal has a specific geometry. A further point is that crystals are the most stable type of solids due to their low potential energy. Iron, silver, and copper, as well as non-metallic elements like phosphorus, sulphur, and iodine, are all examples of crystalline solids, which make up the vast majority of substances on Earth. Crystalline solids are also formed by a number of substances, including sodium chloride, zinc sulphide, and naphtha.

Properties of Crystalline Solids

Crystalline solids have a clear geometric form and exhibit regular structure.
Crystalline solids possess an extreme freezing point. This is due to the fact that amorphous solids are unlikely to have a constant distance between identical atoms, molecules, or ions.
Due to the ideal and constant regularity of the crystal lattice, the heat of fusion is fixed and definite.
Because they don't typically flow like pseudo-solids, crystalline solids are also referred to as "true solids."
When a crystalline solid exhibits anisotropy, its natural properties vary in various directions. Anisotropic means that the properties of a crystalline solid differ in different directions by nature.
Long-range and short-range order are both represented by crystalline solids.

2. Amorphous Solids

Amorphous solids are categorised as having random arrangements of the individual constituent particles. It is a non-crystalline solid because of the misaligned atom placement in the lattice. As a result, amorphous solids are substances that don't have a clearly defined arrangement of atoms and molecules. Numerous industries use amorphous solids, which make up the majority of all solids. One of the most common amorphous solids, glass is extensively used in the manufacturing sector.

Characteristics of Amorphous Solids:

One solid differs from another due to the random nature of the arrangement of atoms and molecules within a solid's component particles.
Due to the random arrangement of atoms and molecules within the solid lattice, amorphous solids lack a defined shape or geometry.
Amorphous solids exhibit short-range order. Due to their lack of crystalline structure and flowability, amorphous solids are also referred to as pseudo-solids or supercooled liquids.
As a result of their isotropic nature, amorphous solids have the same properties when measured in all directions. One such property is their refractive index.
The irregular packing of amorphous solids is the reason why they don't exhibit a sharp melting point.
The constituent particles of an amorphous solid that break, when it is cut, are erratic in both shape and geometry.
Due to the asymmetrical arrangement of atoms and molecules inside the solid lattice, amorphous solids are inherently asymmetrical.
Because amorphous solids lack a distinct melting point, they lack a fixed heat of fusion.

Plastics, Glass, Rubber, Metallic Glass, Polymers, Gel etc.