Difference Between Solid, Liquid, and Gas

• Solid: Has a fixed, rigid shape and a fixed volume. A wooden block will not change its shape if you move it from a table to a bowl.
• Liquid: Has a fixed volume, but absolutely no fixed shape. If you pour 1 liter of water into a tall vase, it takes the shape of the vase. If you pour it into a wide bowl, it takes the shape of the bowl, but it remains exactly 1 liter.
• Gas: Has neither a fixed shape nor a fixed volume. Gas will instantly expand to fill the entire shape and volume of whatever container you put it in.

• Solid: The atoms are packed incredibly tightly together in a strict, organized pattern. They cannot move around; they can only vibrate slightly in place.
• Liquid: The atoms are still close together, but the pattern is broken. They have enough room to slide and slip past one another, which is why liquids can flow.
• Gas: The atoms are extremely far apart from each other. They fly around rapidly in completely random, chaotic directions.

This is the invisible magnetic-like force that glues the atoms together.

• Solid: The force of attraction is Maximum. The atoms are locked together like superglue.
• Liquid: The force is Moderate. It is strong enough to keep the liquid together, but weak enough to let it flow.
• Gas: The force is Negligible (Minimum). The atoms completely ignore each other.

• Solid: Almost impossible to compress. You cannot squeeze a rock into a smaller size.
• Liquid: Very difficult to compress.
• Gas: Highly Compressible. Because there is so much empty space between gas atoms, you can easily squeeze massive amounts of gas into a tiny metal cylinder (like an LPG cooking gas cylinder).