liquid

Also known as liquid matter

thumb|300px|The formation of a spherical drop (liquid)|droplet of liquid [[water minimizes the surface area, which is the natural result of surface tension in liquids.]]

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A liquid is a state of matter where molecules are loosely bound together, allowing the substance to flow and take the shape of its container while maintaining a relatively fixed volume. Liquids matter because they're essential to life and everyday processes—water, for example, naturally forms droplets due to surface tension, a property that affects everything from how liquids behave in nature to how they're used in technology.

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Commons category: Liquid
Commons gallery: Liquid

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~34 min read

Article

38 sections

Contents

Examples
Properties
Volume
Pressure
Buoyancy
Surfaces
Flow
Sound propagation
Microscopic structure
Short-range ordering
Energy and entropy
No small parameter
Role of quantum mechanics
Dynamic phenomena
Experimental methods
Phase transitions
Solutions
Applications
Lubrication
Solvation
Cooling
Cooking
Distillation
Hydraulics
Liquid metals
Miscellaneous
Prediction of liquid properties
Macroscopic
Empirical correlations
Thermodynamic potentials
Hydrodynamics
Mesoscopic
Microscopic
Classical molecular dynamics
Ab initio (quantum) molecular dynamics
See also
Notes
References

thumb|300px|The formation of a spherical drop (liquid)|droplet of liquid [[water minimizes the surface area, which is the natural result of surface tension in liquids.]]

Liquid is a state of matter with a definite volume but no fixed shape. When confined in a container and subjected to a force such as gravity, liquids will adapt to the internal shape of the container in the direction of the force. Liquids are nearly incompressible, maintaining their volume even under pressure. The density of a liquid is usually close to that of a solid, and much higher than that of a gas. Liquids are a form of condensed matter alongside solids, and a form of fluid alongside gases.