What is Liquid: Definition and 1000 Discussions

A liquid is a nearly incompressible fluid that conforms to the shape of its container but retains a (nearly) constant volume independent of pressure. As such, 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 made up of tiny vibrating particles of matter, such as atoms, held together by intermolecular bonds. Like a gas, a liquid is able to flow and take the shape of a container. Most liquids resist compression, although others can be compressed. Unlike a gas, a liquid does not disperse to fill every space of a container, and maintains a fairly constant density. A distinctive property of the liquid state is surface tension, leading to wetting phenomena. Water is, by far, the most common liquid on Earth.
The density of a liquid is usually close to that of a solid, and much higher than in a gas. Therefore, liquid and solid are both termed condensed matter. On the other hand, as liquids and gases share the ability to flow, they are both called fluids. Although 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. Most known matter in the universe is in gaseous form (with traces of detectable solid matter) as interstellar clouds or in plasma from within stars.

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  1. N

    Aqueous Solution vs Liquid Solution

    What is the difference between aqueous solution and liquid solution? Note:I am a high school student and English is my second language. Thanks in advance!
  2. P

    Why does liquid argon stop boiling after a while in dewar?

    When we fill a dewar or any other container with liquid argon (or liquid nitrogen), if I am correct, it sizzles because it is boiling. However, after we leave it inside for a few minutes, it stops. Does this happen because when you first pour it inside, the environment is of the liquid is much...
  3. EEristavi

    I Liquid boiling and Evaporation

    In the normal conditions (sea level) water evaporates at 100 C. In thermodynamics, we say: the amount of energy Q, can raise temperature of the liquid by the formula Q1=cm(t2-t1); when the liquid reaches the boiling point (100 C), we write Q2=Lm. Q2 is entirely spent on changing liquid state...
  4. Aswin Sasikumar 1729

    The generation of sound when water drops fall on a liquid surface

    It will be very helpful if someone suggest any articles or reading materials on this topic for detailed study.
  5. mfb

    I Update on liquid water on Mars - maybe it is sand?

    NASA announced in 2015 that they found some evidence for the existence of liquid water on Mars today - at least temporarily and underground. A new study comes to a different conclusion and proposes sand as origin of the observed material transport downhill. As interesting as these features...
  6. Leo_lee

    Calculate the volume of 1.00 mol of liquid water

    Homework Statement Calculate the volume of 1.00 mol of liquid water at 20°C (at which its density is 998 kg>m3),and compare that with the volume occupied by 1.00 mol of water at the critical point, which is 56 * 10-6 m3. Water has a molar mass of 18.0 g>mol. Full answer please! Thanks...
  7. J

    MHB Ratio problem: The ratio of Liquid X to Liquid Y in a mixture is 3 to 7

    The ratio of Liquid X to Liquid Y in a mixture is 3 to 7. If the amount of Liquid Y in a mixture is 161, then the amount of Liquid x in the mixture is equal to?
  8. Z

    B Absorption bands of liquid and vapor water

    Water vapor exists at a higher energy state than liquid water...but does that make a difference in the absorption bands? In other words, are the absorption bands of vapor and liquid water identical? Thanks!
  9. Paul Colby

    B Is nuclear matter a solid or liquid?

    Managed to get through a Ph.D. in nuclear physics without covering nuclear matter calculations (or I just don't recall it). My question is does nuclear matter have any shear strength, or is it like an ideal gas? What little I see of elementary calculations it's like a fermi gas so one would...
  10. Y

    What is the Identity of the Unknown Liquid Used in a Dumas Bulb Experiment?

    I performed a laboratory experiment using a Dumas bulb to find the molar mass of an unknown, clear liquid in order to identify it. The Dumas bulb was submerged in a beaker filled with water (with the tip out of the water) and the water was boiled to evaporate the sample. I eventually got a...
  11. D

    Is the mass of Liquid N2 and its rate of mass loss related?

    Homework Statement So I'm doing an experiment at uni which I have to find out the specific heat capacity of given small solid cylinder. We are given an insulated canister(a dewar flask) standing on a scale where we have to pour Liquid Nitrogen(hereafter will be referred as LN2) in. A cork with...
  12. G

    Calculating Liquid Pressure: Water and Mercury

    < Mentor Note -- thread moved to HH from the technical physics forums, so no HH Template is shown > Notes: Water density = 1000 kg/m3 Mercury density = 13600 kg/m3 g = 10 N/kg Hi all, please help on this questions. The attempt from me a) (0.7m)(1000kg/m3)(g) = (h)(13600kg/m3)(g) h = 0.0514m h...
  13. S

    Why Are My Liquid Analyzing Device Results Inconsistent at Low Concentrations?

    I made liquid analyzing device based on beer lambert law. I am getting very accurate results when using rich colored liquids but when concentration of colored liquid is dropping beyond certain level I am getting non consistent results. Example: Mixing 2 liquids with concentration 10:1 or 30:1 I...
  14. V

    I I , been a while -- density of a liquid, the density of a solid, and a height....

    It has been a long time since I have worked with this and I need help just starting out. The problem involves the density of a liquid, the density of a solid, and the height where the solid will be released in the liquid, gravitational force, and the time it takes to reach the top of the...
  15. S

    Liquid temperature under pressure

    Hello, I have a question regarding bath pasteurising cider in bottles. The bottles are carbonated with CO2 and capped, I heat the water up to a temperature of 70deg.C I use a test bottle filled with water and with a cork in the top, I use this to monitor the temperature inside the bottle. So my...
  16. S

    How liquid are bitcoins and other crypto-currencies?

    How liquid are bitcoins and other crypto-currencies ? (i.e. How easy is it exchange them for normal currencies or for goods and services?) For example, in the USA, a person with foreign coins (of the physical variety) can't go into a typical bank and exchange them for US currency. Is getting...
  17. S

    Can liquid conductors be used to improve the efficiency of electric motors?

    Hello! I found this interestingly amazing forum accidentally while searching for info on conductive liquids. Please let me explain... I have built an electric motorcycle conversion (EMC) and am in the planning stages of upgrading the drive system from a PMDC...
  18. N

    Installing Chemical Storage Tank: Pressure of Liquid or Gas?

    Hello Forum, I'm looking to install a new chemical storage tank at my site. The tank itself is not rated for vacuum. We will have proper ventilation and nitrogen pumping into the tank to compensate when we are pumping out of the bottom. However, I do want to include a pressure transmitter on...
  19. N

    What liquid takes the longest to melt after being frozen?

    Hi everyone, Please help, i need to find liquid or maybe something else witch can freeze in freezer overnight, or even longer, most important thing that this liquid would unfreeze as long as possible. Or H2O the way to go? Thank you!
  20. T

    Composition of Freezing Point Crystals in a Glacial Acetic Acid Solution

    Homework Statement A solution contains 0.1mol of acetamide in 1Lit of glacial acetic acid.When the solution is cooled,the first crystal that appeared at the freezing point contains the molecules of A.acetamide only B.Acetic acid only C.both acetamide and acetic acid D.None Homework Equations...
  21. E

    B Liquid Flow Calculation out of a pressurized tank

    I am an engineer who needs to help my chemical transport girl friend with a little basic physics. It has been about 35 years since basic physics for me so I am rusty. She wants to understand how to calculate the following: She drives a large tanker (cylindrical) which carries a variety of...
  22. V

    Why does paramagnetic liquid rise in a magnetic field?

    When a magnetic field is applied across the left part of the tube , it's level rises as shown . I would be grateful if someone could help me understand why this happens . Thanks .
  23. H

    Integral constant for internal energy of an ionic liquid

    Integral constant for internal energy of ionic liquid I have a question, and I will be really grateful if someone helps me. I have a polynomial equation for internal energy which I calculated by integration an equation of state formula, which is based on density. But, because I calculated this...
  24. H

    Integral constant for internal energy of ionic liquid

    Integral constant for internal energy of ionic liquid I have a question, and I will be really grateful if someone helps me. I have a polynomial equation for internal energy which I calculated by integration an equation of state formula, which is based on density. But, because I calculated this...
  25. G

    Capillary and liquid tension problem

    Dear all, I have a problem to solve but i am not very familiar with physics. See attached image. Data: 1)I have a capillary system with a short an thinner tube on one end and larger taller tube communicating. 2) at the equilibrium, the thinner capillary is full of liquid, while there is a...
  26. Alexander350

    Understanding Liquid Pressure in a Cone: How Does It Compare to a Cylinder?

    I am confused about the pressure depending only on the depth of the liquid, particularly for a cone. Up until P=mg/A=ρVg/A I understand it, but the problem I have is cancelling the area with the volume to give the height. How does this work when the volume of the liquid in the cone is not given...
  27. E

    How to pump liquid from vacuum to atmosphere

    Greetings, The application is a wiped film evaporator (~1.2-1.5 kg/hr throughput). The concentrate and the distillate gravity feed round bottom flasks. I'm not worried about the cold-trap waste. The evaporator volume is under vacuum (~0.003Torr). I want to pump the liquid from the...
  28. BillTre

    Liquid Regions of Mantle May Underlie Plumes

    A news article in Science magazine discusses seizmic ultralow-velocity zones (800 km across x 15 km tall). Some people think the seizmic ultralow-velocity zones could be liquid. They are thought to underlie rising mantle plumes.
  29. H

    How much air is required to transfer liquid?

    Hi all, I am trying to wrap my head around how much air is needed to transfer liquid from one tank to another tank. Here is a sketch of the problem The valves at the bottom of the first tank opens up, and air is transferred to the first vessel to transfer the liquid completely to the...
  30. Pushoam

    What shape does the surface of a rotating liquid take?

    Homework Statement Homework EquationsThe Attempt at a Solution If I consider an arc shaped element of the liquid, then the physical forces acting on it are 4 different tensions , normal force and gravitational force on it. Two of the tensions would be acting along tangential direction...
  31. U

    Filter Material which Blocks Volatile Liquid, Passes Vapor

    Hi, All. Given a scenario of a closed volume of volatile liquid and it's associated vapor above boiling point (ex. butane in a can at room temp.) which is dispensed through some tube or line: Is there some filtering medium capable of ensuring that only vapor may pass through the line, producing...
  32. Strawberry1711

    Liquid and vapour in equilibrium

    Homework Statement A liquid is in equilibrium with its vapour at it’s boiling point. On the average, the molecules in the two phases have equal;; provided options are: a. inter-molecule forces b.potential energy c .Kinetic energy d.total energy . Homework EquationsThe Attempt at a Solution ...
  33. W

    Charged liquid jet instability

    I am dealing with a problem of instability of an infinitely long charged liquid jet. When there is a change is surface profile(which originally is a column with radius R), it surface charge density changes, thus the electric energy change of the liquid jet is E (due to surface charge density...
  34. N

    What is the true definition of an ionic liquid?

    Hi. I have a question about the term, "Ionic liquid" When I researched the papers, I found the word "Ionic liquid" in many papers. First, I thought the ionic liquid just means the solution that solvent is ionized. But as I read other papers, I found that people don't mean ionized solution as...
  35. PHstud

    Liquid to gas expansion temperature change in a tank

    Hello ! I have troube doing a calculation. Let's say we have a volume Vi in a tank at a pressure Pi. If I let my tank open, the tank's liquid will start to boil to keep the pressure Pi inside the tank. Now, at the end, I will have a volume Vf in the tank, and still a pressure Pi. But the...
  36. B

    Calculating viscosity of a liquid with a falling object

    Homework Statement [/B] A small steel-bearing falls 25.0 cm in glycerol in 23.8 s and the same distance in castor oil in 15.1 s. The densities are for glycerol 1260 kg m−3 , for castor oil 961 kg m−3 , and for steel 7830 kg m−3 . The viscosity for glycerol is 1.490 Pa s. Calculate the viscosity...
  37. P

    Friction between cart and a surface covered with a liquid?

    << Thread moved from the technical forums so no Homework Help Template is shown >> Hello, I'm attempting an experiment where I take a cart and slide it down a ramp. Each time, I will coat the ramp with a different liquid. I want to compare the effects of the dry ramp, a ramp with water poured...
  38. _maxim_

    A Best coil design for homogeneus NMR RF pulse on liquid discs

    Hi there, we have a NMR spectrometer equipped with a standard bore 54mm cryomagnet working at 14.1 T (600 MHz Larmor Frequency) produced by Oxford. I would implement a special probe capable of generating a RF pulse and reading a NMR answer from a sample that is not standard for such...
  39. GAURAV DADWAL

    Problem with light grazing along the liquid surface

    Let's suppose we have a cuboidal tank filled with liquid of density rho,such that Critical angle of medium is (Ic) now it's Clear that light rays from the medium that strike at proper critical angle will Graze along the surface Now if someone would be along the path of the rays receiving...
  40. K

    Pressure required to move a liquid

    I have a container that measures 1 cubic foot and is full of water. I have another empty container that is 4.5 feet higher than the empty container. The full container has a fluid outlet on the bottom, and an air inlet on the top. A hose (1 inch diameter, 4.5 feet long) connects the fluid outlet...
  41. J

    I Relationship between the radius and area of liquid in a cylinder

    Hello, I did a calculation to determine whether a liquid with a fixed volume ##V##, would be spread over a larger surface area ##A## on the inside mantle of a cylinder, if the cylinder has a larger radius ##r##. So I’d like to find a relationship between the radius ##r## and the area ##A## over...
  42. P

    Two layers of non-mixing liquid and electrodes

    I am siting an imaginary experiment here. In a glass vessel, there are two types of non-mixing liquids say water and kerosene. It can be easily understood that the kerosene will form a layer above water in such a case. Now, some common salt or other electrolyte has been added to the water and...
  43. R

    Liquid which turns into a ball?

    Is there any liquid based on viscosity and density that changes into ball. Obviously here, the liquid cannot be water. Other thing can be that some chemical is applied in hand( This doesn't make sense I think).
  44. K

    Thermal expansion of liquid into gas void

    I have a question about thermal expansion of liquid into a gas void. Imagine a closed upright cylinder filled mostly with water – say 99%, and the remaining 1% is gas. Now imagine that you heat the cylinder and its contents. The water will expand by ΔV owing to thermal expansion. The gas...
  45. alan

    Temperature and volume fraction of a liquid mixture

    I have known the interaction parameter of a certain liquid mixture which has the phase behaviour can be described by the lattice model. , is it possible for us to know the temperature at the critical point? Besides, if we know the temperature at the critical point, can the volume fraction of...
  46. M

    I Dissolved gas concentration in undersaturated liquid column

    Hi, In an enclosed system - of say Methane & water - in which the water column is sufficiently large to have significant pressure and some modest temperature difference due to gravity and geothermal effects, how would one calculate / predict the changing methane concentration (or partial...
  47. J

    I How to protect liquid filled pods from leaking on a plane

    I need a little help from anyone capable... My company is looking to ship 1000s of the packages around the US, the problem is as follows: The packages contains pods in pic related - they have liquid in them, and sometimes during air travel, the difference in pressure causes them to leak. We...
  48. Borek

    Critical temperature, or: Is the supercritical liquid a phase?

    Somehow I am worried it is a can of worms, but I will still try. This started with a student confused with statements describing critical temperature for the gas/liquid equilibrium. Some books and sources state it is the highest temperature AT which it is possible to liquefy the gas just by...
  49. R

    Question about liquid flow into a vessel, is it going in?

    Liquid is being pumped into a vessel then it leaves and recirculates through the pump. I have calibrated the pump by measuring the amount of fluid being pumped through the tube (not into the vessel). However I have noticed at low flow rates the liquid level at the inlet is only half full! That...
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