Solids
What makes the solids, liquids, gases etc. different is basically the energy (motion) of the atoms. From BEC, where they are so low energy that they are literally blending into one another, to plasma, where they are so high energy they can emit light. Solids are the lowest energy form of matter that exist in nature (BEC only happens under laboratory conditions).


In solids, the atoms and molecules are bonded (stuck) together in such a way that they can’t move easily. They hold their shape. That’s why you can sit in a chair. The solid molecules hold their shape and so they hold you up. The typical characteristics that solids tend to have are they keep their shape unless they are broken and that they do not flow.


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Elasticity is what allows you to bounce a basketball and shoot a rubber band across the room. All solids have some elasticity. A rubber band has a lot of elasticity, a diamond on the other hand has very little elasticity. Elasticity is basically the ability of solids to be stretched, twisted or squashed and come back to its original shape. You can stretch a rubber band quite a bit and when you stop stretching it comes back to the way it was. A basketball actually squashes a bit when it hits the sidewalk and when it unsquashes it bounces back up. If you stretch, twist or squash something beyond its elastic limit it will break or deform.


Imagine taking a rubber band, for example, and stretching it so much that it breaks. You’ve stretched it beyond its elastic limit and it broke. Another example, would be taking a wire pipe cleaner. If you bend it just a bit, it will bend back to its original shape. If you go to far, it stays in the new shape. You have bent it beyond its elastic limit.


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