When matter is in a solid state are its molecules able to slip and slide around each other?
1 Answer
Jan 8, 2017
No.
Explanation:
When matter is in the solid state, all of the particles are tightly packed together. There isn't enough space for them to 'slip or slide' against or over each other, so the most they can do is vibrate about a fixed point . This is so because the attractive forces between the particles are really strong, so everything is held closely together.
The attractive forces between the particles in liquids and gases aren't as strong as in solids. The 'slipping and sliding' would really occur in liquids because those have a bit more space between the particles than solids.
This picture will probably help.
