Liquid Definition and 1000 Threads

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. F

    If you add salt to liquid nitrogen,would it turn into a superconductor?

    I was wondering also if you put a magnet above it, then lifted the magnet up,would the nitrogen and salt come up too?
  2. M

    Determining Liquid Viscosity with Acoustic Piezo Sensors

    Hey guys, I am researching the viscosity of different liquids. I want to use an acoustic method to determine the acoustic viscosity. In some readings I figured that this can be done by using two Piezo sensors. The two sensors are inserted into water, liquid, etc. Transmit sensor (sensor A)...
  3. N

    Can Extreme Cold Cause Burns Similar to Heat?

    Hi, I was wondering, what is a cold burn exactly? We were told that liquid nitrogen (or anything that cold for that matter) can cause cold burns when touched... How can something cold burn you? Or is it not burning you but is it merely named 'cold burn' even though it is simply freezing...
  4. J

    Fluid Physics; Finding the Density of an Unknown Liquid

    Homework Statement I have a problem from the 2002 AP exam; The questions specifically are from 3b, c, and d. ( See the attached image.)Homework Equations So I'm trying to solve for the unknown density of the liquid (pW). From what I can assume so far, the object is submerged in the liquid...
  5. M

    Liquid pressure and circular motion

    A tube is sealed at both ends and contains a 0.0212-m-long portion of liquid. The length of the tube is large compared to 0.0212 m. There is no air in the tube, and the vapor in the space above the liquid may be ignored. The tube is whirled around in a horizontal circle at a constant angular...
  6. M

    How Long Does Sound Travel Through Water and Copper?

    Homework Statement A sound wave is incident on a pool of fresh water. The sound enters the water perpendicularly and travels a distance of 0.52 m before striking a 0.18 m thick copper block lying on the bottom. The sound passes through the block, reflects from the bottom surface of the block...
  7. T

    What are the forces acting on a ball falling through a liquid?

    The Attempt at a Solution I think the first part is just 9.8 but I have no idea on the rest of the problem (this is due tomorrow need help)
  8. M

    Chemistry: 2 samples of the same liquid but different temp - final temp?

    Homework Statement 75 mL of a pure liquid at 245 K is mixed with 100 mL of the same pure liquid 365 K. What is the final temperature? The answer is 314 K but I'm not sure why! Thank you! =) Homework Equations It says this problem has to do with Calorimetry but I'm not sure why...
  9. C

    Disintegration of a falling drop of liquid

    What are the variables that determine the maximum diameter of a drop of liquid that will not disintegrate while falling through a gas (e.g. raindrop falling in air)?
  10. I

    The Free Surface Profile: Investigating Liquid Energy

    In fox mcdonald - 6th edition page 83...i read that the free surface profile is independent of any property of liquid. But i have doubt that any liquid tried to acquire a shape so as to minimize its energy. So what went wrong?
  11. Y

    Beer + Liquid Nitrogen: Why Does It Foam & Popcorn?

    1. If you take beer out of the fridge, dip it for 30 seconds in liquid nitrogen, then open it, it will foam up. Skipping the LNO2 cooling stage, it doesn't foam up, why? 2. Pouring a bottle of beer into Dewar of liquid nitrogen, then letting LNO2 evaporate leaves pieces that are shaped like...
  12. S

    Help Needed for Simulation of Dropping Liquid into a Pool

    hi, I am preety new in this field so I need some help about Comsol sw. I would like to perform a simulation but as I am not a physicist I have no idea how to. So, if anyone can help me, I would be very happy. OK. I would like to simulate the drop of liquid(water) which falls into a liquid...
  13. M

    Finding refractive index of liquid with no parallax principle

    In physics class we did an experiment where we dropped a metal pin in a beaker of water, covered half the beaker with a mirror and clamped another metal pin above the beaker. We had to find the refractive index of the water by measuring the apparent depth of the submerged pin and dividing it...
  14. B

    Max radius of falling liquid drop

    The max radius a fallling liquid drop can have without breaking apart is given by the equation: R=√(σ/gρ) where the rho is density of liquid (1000kg/m^3), and the surface tension is .7275J/m^2. g is gravity I am asked to determine the max radius of a drop in units of cm at 20...
  15. K

    How Is Potential Energy Calculated in an Oscillating U-Tube with Varying Radii?

    Hi, Just wondering if anyone has any thoughts on how to approach this question: A U-tube has vertical arms of radii 'r' and '2r', connected by a horizontal tube of length 'l' whose radius increases linearly from r to 2r. The U-tube contains liquid up to a height 'h' in each arm. The liquid...
  16. K

    How Does Oscillating Liquid in a U-Tube Calculate Potential Energy?

    Hi, Just wondering if anyone has any thoughts on how to approach this question: A U-tube has vertical arms of radii 'r' and '2r', connected by a horizontal tube of length 'l' whose radius increases linearly from r to 2r. The U-tube contains liquid up to a height 'h' in each arm. The...
  17. B

    Need formula re time required to dissolve gas into liquid

    Hello; I'm new here and this is my first post. I think I've done all that I can do before posting this: I've spend a lot of time searching for the answer myself through Google; I've read all of the sticky posts here; and then I did a search of your post archives but couldn't find an answer...
  18. S

    Oscillation of a Mass in Liquid (Densities and Cross-Sectional Area Known)

    Homework Statement A body of uniform cross-sectional area A = 1 cm^2 and of mass density p = 0.8 g/cm^3 floats in a liquid of density p0 = 1 g/cm^3 and at equilibrium displaces a volume V = 0.8 cm^3. Show that the period of small oscillations about the equilibrium position is given by: T...
  19. T

    % lost to liquid crystal filters

    Hi, I've got a random question. To my knowledge a liquid crystal filter bends incoming light coming in from various angles towards one particular angle as light leaves the filter. Does anybody know the % loss of light caused by this action?
  20. S

    How Does Air and Liquid Displacement Work in an Ink Cartridge?

    I am trying to re-manufacture an ink cartridge and need to understand the physics of how this thing is working. The Cartridge 1. Ink in tube 2. Ball bearing on top of cartridge which I can push into the cartridge to allow me to get liquid into clean 3. Adaptor on top of cartridge which...
  21. R

    Model the flow of liquid through a pipe/tube and calculate the pressure

    I want to model the flow of liquid through a pipe/tube and calculate the pressure drop over the pipe. What sort of boundary conditions should I be using? I tried with a pressure inlet and a pressure outlet, but I'm not sure if that is the right way to go. Pressure at inlet = 1.8bar, pressure...
  22. R

    Thermal Radiation from a Liquid or Gas

    Hello, I've been trying to find out how to calculate heat loss from a gas or liquid vs. temp. My understanding is that this is not a simple blackbody problem for a variety of reasons... guess it's more a gray-body problem. Have not been successful at finding papers or texts which deal with...
  23. L

    Force/density difference in liquid question

    Hello, I am wondering how one can calculate the upwards force of a less dense object within a denser liquid based on the object's volume (or mass) and density, i.e of an air balloon in water. I've already searched for an answer for a while, but just don't seem to be asking google the right...
  24. B

    Scientists Discover Liquid on Saturn's Moon Titan

    http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2008/07/lake-of-petrole.html
  25. B

    Expansion coefficient of liquid Propane ?

    Hi Does anyone have a figure for this. I've trolled the net for nearly 2 hours now with no success. Any help or guidance much appreciated. Bitman
  26. C

    [PhD Qualifier] Liquid in a rotating arm

    Homework Statement An open glass tube of uniform bore (uniform inner diameter) is bent into the shape of an "L". One arm is immersed into a liquid of density \rho and the other arm of length l remains in the air in a horizontal orientation. The tube is rotated with constant angular speed...
  27. V

    Is there a liquid which is attracted by magnet at room temp.

    please tell the name of a liquid (at room temperature) which is attracted by a magnet. and its constituents does not get seperated.
  28. J

    Why is mercury a liquid even though its atoms are closely packed

    the density of ice(solid) is less than that of water(liquid) and density of mercury(liquid) is more than that of many solids. thinking about it, it seemed natural to me that the more closely are the atoms or molecules packed the greater will be their density. but on packing them closely, isn't...
  29. O

    Volume of liquid flowing into a tank

    [SOLVED] Volume of liquid flowing into a tank A tank in the shape of an inverted cone has liquid flowing into it at constant rate. If the rate at which the water rises in the tank is 3x10^-2 m s^-1 when the liquid is at a depth of 2 m, calculate the volume of liquid flowing into the tank at...
  30. Q

    How Does a Liquid Oscillate in a U-Shaped Tube?

    Homework Statement A liquid is placed in a U-Shaped tube. Initially both are at the same level. Total length of liquid is L. But later one side is displaced from equilibrium by X.(Difference of both sides is 2x now). Show that the water will oscillate harmonically in the form of a=-w squared...
  31. A

    Strange Behaviour of Aluminium in Liquid Nitrogen

    i was doing an experiment with liquid nitrogen, i had to put an aluminium body initially at room temperature inside a glass with the nitrogen at 77K, first it starts making a loud noise then a lower noise that is slowly increasing and finally near the equilibrium point the noise gets strangley...
  32. E

    Formula to Calculate drop Pressure in Liquid Pipe

    I am looking formula to calculate pressure drop in a liquid pipe and to determine a suitable diameter of pipe to use for the application.
  33. S

    The puzzling discovery of a motor made from liquid film

    Here’s an interesting effect discovered by a group of Iranian physicists at Sharif University of Technology in Tehran, Iran (it’s not often we hear from these guys). They placed a thin film of water in a square cell and applied two perpendicular electric fields. One was an external electric...
  34. T

    Boiling liquid in a closed vessel

    Hi dear Forumers, I 've run into a little thermodynamic problem: There is a closed vessel, containing a given amount of liquid. I heat up the vessel, higher than the boiling point of the liquid. Here it is what happens: As a start, I know that the pressure inside the vessel consists of...
  35. A

    Liquid molecular Velocity Distribution

    Does Maxwell Boltzmann hold for liquids? In the case of gases it does quite well for calculating the velocity distribution given a temperature. However, when the molecules are closer together in the case of liquids, how do the van der waals force and others effect the velocity distribution...
  36. Y

    Relationship between surface tension and the shape of a liquid drop

    i don't know how to describe the relationship between surface tension and the shape of a liquid drop. Also what are the attractive forces that increase surface tension?
  37. clope023

    Volume of a liquid in a container

    Homework Statement A tall cylinder with a cross-sectional area 12.0cm is partially filled with mercury; the surface of the mercury is 6.00cm above the bottom of the cylinder. Water is slowly poured in on top of the mercury, and the two fluids don't mix. What volume of water must be added...
  38. L

    Can Liquids Exist in a High Quality Vacuum?

    Is it possible for a liquid to exist in a high quality vacuum? For example, a few Torr. If so what are the methods for doing this?
  39. N

    Can Argon Gas Remove Oxygen from Liquid?

    Can oxygen be removed from a liquid using argon gas?
  40. W

    The Mystery of Boiling an Egg: From Liquid to Solid!

    When you boil an egg it turns into a solid. Isn't that kind of wierd?? I thought when you heated a liquid/semi-liquid it will turn into a gas. But on the other hand I get one of my fav. breakfast. HOW?
  41. jal

    Quark-Gluon Liquid: Searching the Primeval Universe

    A search of Quark-gluon_plasma at arxiv.org gave 112 hit for 2008 http://search.arxiv.org:8081/?query=+quark-gluon_plasma&qid=12050205851282cr213.423nN2054076167&byDate=1 Displaying hits 1 to 10 of 6738. Here is a sample --------- http://arxiv.org/abs/0801.0705v1 Realistic Equations of...
  42. M

    Polarizability of Liquid Helium

    Homework Statement What's the polarizability of liquid helium given: density= 145kgm^-3 relative permittivity = X = 1.0566 Homework Equations alpha (polarizability) = (3(permittivity of free space))/N) / ((X-1)/(X+2))The Attempt at a Solution because N is molecules/volume...
  43. M

    Atomic Nuclei: Liquid, Solid, Charged - Explained

    how can you explain atomic nuclei. liquid, charged, solid what? and there are some words about nuclear radius rn, rp and rc. what is the meaning of these words. all these data are experimental results or calculated. one is "atomic data and nuclear data tables, vol 71, no. 1, 1999, G.A. Salazar...
  44. G

    Vapor pressure of a liquid homework

    [SOLVED] vapor pressure Homework Statement the vapor pressure of a liquid at 25 degrees celcius is 200 torr. If the pressure over the liquid is lowered to 190 torr at 25 degrees celsius the liquid will... a)evaporate b)boil c)freeze Homework Equations The Attempt at a...
  45. J

    Spinning liquid creating a parabolic shape

    [SOLVED] spinning liquid creating a parabolic shape take a container of liquid and spin it... a parcel at any given radius (r) experiences (in the rotating frame) a force outward = mass x angular speed^2 x r and a vertical force of mg. Thus the surface curves such that the tangent to the...
  46. T

    Is Dark Matter a solid, gas or liquid?

    I was simply wondering if dark matter is most-likely a Solid, Liquid, Gas, or Plasma.
  47. A

    Liquid Sodium Cooling Loop Piping Material

    What materials can be used for the piping in liquid sodium cooling loops (primary and secondary) and for the heat exchanger?
  48. B

    Homemade liquid rocket engine all based around a CO2

    Ok, so if there is a better place for this, please do move it mods, I just couldn't find a place to post project related stuff so I chose this part of the site. Anyways, I'm working on a homemade liquid rocket engine all based around a CO2 cartridge combustion chamber. This project also has the...
  49. R

    Calculating Wavelength of Red Light in Liquid

    Red light travels from air into liquid at an angle of incidence of 390 and an angle of reflection of 170. Calculate the wavelength of the red light in the liquid if its wavelength in air is 750 nm. can anyone give me a clue? ,,, please..
  50. P

    Liquid static head vs. dynamic head?

    It's been a looooooong time since I delved into fluid properties. I'm trying to predict flow based on a known static head. I have a water column which will result in 6 psig of static head. The height of the water column will not change during the flow. I know the downstream piping will...
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