Matter

Definition

In classical physics and general chemistry, matter is any substance that has mass and takes up space by having volume. All everyday objects that can be touched are ultimately composed of atoms, which are made up of interacting subatomic particles. In everyday as well as scientific usage, matter generally includes atoms and anything made up of them, and any particles that act as if they have both rest mass and volume. However it does not include massless particles such as photons, or other energy phenomena or waves such as light or heat. Matter exists in various states. These include classical everyday phases such as solid, liquid, and gas – for example water exists as ice, liquid water, and gaseous steam – but other states are possible, including plasma, Bose–Einstein condensates, fermionic condensates, and quark–gluon plasma.

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Abiogenesis Aether (classical element)Albert Einstein Ambiplasma Amorphous solid Anaximander Anaximenes of Miletus Ancient Greece Ancient Greek philosophy Ancient India Animal Annihilation Antielectron Antiferromagnetism Antihydrogen Antimatter Antineutron Antiparticle Antiproton Anyon Apeiron (cosmology)Archaea Aristotle Astrobiology Astrophysics Asymmetry Atmosphere of Earth Atom Atomic nucleus Atomic ratio Atomic theory Atomism Atoms Axino Axion B meson Bacteria Baryogenesis Baryon Baryon asymmetry Baryon number Baryonic matter Baryons Beam Line Big Bang Binding energy Binodal Biodiversity Biological organisation Biology Biosphere Black holes Boiling Boiling point Bonding in solids Bose–Einstein condensate Boson Bosonic field Bottom antiquark Bottom eta meson Bottom quark Bound state Brookhaven National Laboratory Buddhist philosophy CP violation CRC Press Calculus Carbon Cathode ray tube Ceramic engineering Characterization (materials science)Chargino Charm antiquark Charm quark Chemical bond Chemical composition Chemical compound Chemical element Chemical ionization Chemical property Chemical purity Chemical reaction Chemistry Classical element Classical physics Climate Cloud Colloid Color-glass condensate Color superconductor Colour charge Composite materials Composite particle Compound (chemistry)Compressed fluid Computational materials science Condensation Condensed-matter physics Condensed matter physics Conservation law Cooling curve Cosmic ray Cosmological constant Cosmology Critical line (thermodynamics)Critical point (thermodynamics)Crystal Crystallization Crystallography Curvaton D meson Dark energy Dark matter Dark matter halo Dark photon Davydov soliton Deformable bodies Degenerate matter Delta baryon Democritus Density Deoxyribonucleic acid Deposition (phase transition)Diamond Dilaton Diquark Double-charm tetraquark Down antiquark Down quark Dropleton Dual graviton E=MC2 Earth Earth science Ecology Ecosystem Eightfold way (physics)Electric charge Electrolyte Electromagnetism Electron Electron hole Electron neutrino Electronvolt Electron–positron annihilation Elementary charge Elementary particle Empedocles Energy Enlightenment philosophy Enthalpy of fusion Enthalpy of sublimation Enthalpy of vaporization Equation of state Ernan McMullin Eta meson Eukaryote European Physical Journal C Evaporation Excited state Exciton Exotic atom Exotic hadron Exotic matter Expansion of the universe Faddeev–Popov ghost Fauna Femtometer Fermi energy Fermion Fermionic condensate Fermionic field Fermions Fermi–Dirac statistics Ferrimagnetism Ferromagnetism Field (physics)Flash evaporation Flora Fluid Force carriers Fracton (subdimensional particle)Freezing Friedmann equations Fundamental forces Fundamental interaction Fungus Future of Earth Gaia hypothesis Galaxy formation and evolution Galaxy rotation curve Gamma ray Gas Gauge boson Gauge theory Gaugino Geiger–Marsden experiment General relativity Generation (physics)Geological history of Earth Geology Ghost (physics)Glass ceramics Glueball Gluino Gluon Graviphoton Gravitino Graviton Gravity Greenwood Publishing Group Hadron Hannes Alfvén Harvey Brown (philosopher)Heat Heptaquark Heraclitus Hexaquark Higgs boson Higgs particle Higgsino Hindu philosophy History of Earth History of life History of subatomic physics Hybrid word Hydrogen Hyle IUPAC books Ice Indian philosophy Inert gas Inertial mass Inflaton Intensive and extensive properties Interdisciplinarity Internal structure of Earth International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry Ionic compound Ionization Isaac Newton J. J. Thomson J/psi meson Jain philosophy James Clerk Maxwell Jiva John P. Morton and Company Jones & Bartlett Joseph Priestley Kanada (philosopher)Kaon Karma Kaṇāda Lambda-CDM model Lambda baryon Lambda point Latent heat Latent internal energy Lee Smolin Leidenfrost effect Leptogenesis (physics)Lepton Lepton number Leptons Leptoquark Lerner Publications Leucippus Life Light Lightning Liquid Liquid crystal List of baryons List of hypothetical particles List of mesons List of particles List of quasiparticles List of states of matter List of unsolved problems in physics Macroscopic quantum phenomena Magnetic material Magnetic monopole Magnon Majorana fermion Majoron Mass Mass per nucleon Massive particle Massless particle Mass–energy equivalence Material Materialism Materials Materials informatics Materials science Mathematical formulation of the Standard Model Matt Strassler Matter (disambiguation)Maurice A. Finocchiaro Mechanism (philosophy)Melting Melting point Meson Mesonic molecule Metallurgy Metastable Meteorology Microelectronics Mineralogy Minerals Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model Mining engineering Miscibility Mixture Modified Newtonian Dynamics Molecule Molecules Moonlight Motion Mpemba effect Muon Muon neutrino Muonium Nanomaterials Natural environment Natural science Nature Nature-based solutions Negative mass Neutralino Neutrino Neutron Neutron star Neutrons Newton's first law of motion Nonbaryonic dark matter Nuclear binding energy Nuclear matter Nuclear physics Nucleon Nyaya Observable universe Ocean Omega baryon Omega meson Onium Order and disorder (physics)Organic compound Organism Oxford University Press Paramagnetism Parmenides Particle Particle Data Group Particle accelerator Particle chauvinism Particle physics Particular Particulate theory of matter Parton (particle physics)Pattern formation Pauli exclusion principle Pentaquark Periodic Systems of Small Molecules Periodic table Phase (matter)Phase diagram Phase transition Phase transitions Phases of matter Phi meson Philosopher Philosophy of matter Phonon Photino Photon Photonic molecule Physical Review D Physical object Physical ontology Physicalism Physics Physics (Aristotle)Physics Letters B Pion Pionium Planck relation Plant Plasma (physics)Plasma recombination Plasmaron Plasmon Plate tectonics Point particle Polariton Polaron Polymer chemistry Polymer engineering Polymer physics Polymer science Pomeron Positron Positronium Pre-Socratic philosophy Preon Pressure Programmable matter Prokaryote Protist Proton Protonium Protons QCD matter Quantity of matter Quantum Quantum Hall effect Quantum chromodynamics Quantum chromodynamics binding energy Quantum gravity Quantum mechanics Quantum spin liquid Quark Quark matter Quark model Quark star Quarkonium Quarks Quark–gluon plasma Quasiparticle R-hadron Radiation Radioactive decay Rain Raw materials Refractive index Regelation Reincarnation Relativistic mass Relativistic particle René Descartes Rest mass Rho meson Rigid body Roger Penrose Roton Rydberg matter Scalar boson Scalar field dark matter Science Science fiction Scientific law Sfermion Sigma baryon Simon Saunders Skyrmion Snow Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge Sodium chloride Soft matter Solid Solid-state chemistry Solid-state physics Solids Space Specific heat Speed of light Spinodal Spinor field Standard Model State of matter Steam Stephen Hawking Sterile neutrino Stop squark Strange antiquark Strange matter Strange quark Strangelet Stress–energy tensor String-net liquid Strong interaction Subatomic particle Sublimation (phase transition)Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar Substance (chemistry)Substance theory Sucrose Sunlight Superatom Superconductivity Supercooling Supercritical fluid Superfluid Superfluidity Superglass Superheated water Superheating Superpartner Supersolid Supersymmetry Surface science T meson Tachyon Tau (particle)Tau neutrino Tauonium Taylor & Francis Telescope Temperature Tetraquark Textbook Thales Theory of relativity Thermo-dielectric effect Thermodynamics Theta meson Thomson experiment Tide Time Time crystal Timeline of atomic and subatomic physics Timeline of particle discoveries Timeline of states of matter and phase transitions Top antiquark Top quark Tornado Tribology Trion (physics)Triple point Tropical cyclone Trouton's rule Tungsten United States National Research Council Universe University of Chicago Press Unsolved problems in physics Up antiquark Up quark Upsilon meson Vacuum Vaisheshika Vapor Vaporization Vapor–liquid equilibrium Virtual particle Virus Vitrification Volatility (chemistry)Volume WIMPs W and Z bosons Water Water (molecule)Wave Wave–particle duality Weak force Weak interaction Weather White dwarf White dwarf star Wilderness Wildfire Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe Wind W′ and Z′ bosons X and Y bosons Xi baryon

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