I thought there were only 3 states of matter gas, liquid, solid,my teachers claims there are 4. whats the 4th?

Answer 1

Ive heard some people refer to plasma as the 4th, but don't understand the concept.

Answer 2

Please, I get there in the end!

Assuming that you are at school, he might be looking for slow moveing solids or as someone refered to as plastic solids, an example of this is glass, this is why acient churches' windows are wider at the bottom. These solids have the dynamic properties of fluids but on the atomic scale their molecular structure still keeps quite uniformally to their latice formation.

For a slightly more advanced answer, as many have also said, Plasma. This is where extreme temperature and preassure can provide the energy required to break free electrons from the weak atomic force holding them to the atomic nucleus.
This state is an extrapolation that fits the pattern: Solid, Liquid, Gas, Plasma. As parralels go, Latent heat capacities of liquidation/solidification and evaporatation/condensation can be compared to the energy requirements for plasma creation.
For a note on plasma, atomic plasma is NOT blood plasma which happens to be the liquid that disolves and suspends it's contents.

Another option is not colloidal, This is just an exceptional case of suspension, this is a combination, hence a multistate-multimolecular substance. Other examples of this are solutions, gells and foams.

As for fluid, yes liquids and gasses both are fluids, and yes there are schools of thought that accept slow-moving-solids as fluids, but personally I would not call it a separate state.

For another extreme answer, Bose-Einstein Condensate, also mentioned. All elements cooled to 0 Kelvin (standard pressure) become a solid except Helium. Using reccursive temperature/preassure cycling with a similar way the ideal gas theory is modelled (PV=nRT) near absolute zero temperatures can be reached, this is where as mentioned conventional physics becomes bizzare.
Though again I would class this as a special case, rather than a unique state

Lastly for more Einstein, matter-energy conversion. Enough said.

Answer 3

When energy is applied to a solid, it becomes a liquid. Apply more energy to a liquid and it becomes a gas. If further energy is applied to a gas, it then becomes a plasma.

When used for surface treatment and critical cleaning applications, ions and electrons in the plasma react with the surface of materials placed within the plasma chamber. The result is a complete removal of organic contamination, and on polymers, a permanent chemical modification of the surface. Reactive chemical functionalities may be imparted to the surface resulting in a dramatic increase in bond strength and other properties, without affecting the bulk properties of the material.

Answer 4

Temperature changes the state of molecular phases:
With Increasing temperature you get -> Solid, Liquid, Gas, Molecular Dissociation (ignore this for your class), Plasma (this is the answer for your class), and finally Fully Ionized Plasma.

We have been able to create these states here on earth, although (non)scientists agree that more states actually exist. The big bang is one of these examples, where matter must have existed in beyond fully ionized plasma phase, how cool!

Answer 5

Solid, Liquid, Gas and Plasma.

Answer 6

I think you will find that it is 'fluid' I recall this from a documentary ages ago. Glass, although we all think it is solid, and is definitely not a liquid is actually a fluid. Dont believe me? Well to prove it, if you measure the thickness of a piece of old glass, say a church window, taking measurements at the top and the bottom. You will find that the bottom is thicker due to the fluid state of glass and gravity having an effect on it.
I was stunned too...

Answer 7

actually, there are greater states of count than that, yet they are purely present in extreme situations, like plasma( you're precise, that's plasma, yet no longer the single on your blood) that's present in stars like the sunlight. So there could be 5 states of count, yet aside from the uncomplicated 3 states of count, the different greater desirable varieties of count available won't be able to become the two good, nor liquid nor gasoline, so that's uncertain.

Answer 8

Actually since 1995, scientists have identified 5 states of matter:
liquids, solids, gases, plasmas, and Bose-Einstein condensates.

I don't understand it all but check out the link below and read up on it. You might want to print out the article to show your teacher or pass on the website so your teacher can read it personally.

Answer 9

One of my physics texts actually proposes a 5th state of matter called a "Bose-Einstein Condensate," or "superfluid." This is what happens to helium when you cool it to around 2 Kelvins or so. Effectively, all the atoms are falling together into the lowest possible energy states and wierd things begin to happen, such as zero vicscosity, and very high heat conductivity.

Answer 10

Plasma. It's basically a variation of the gas state. A high pressure and hot gas behaves differently, however, because the atoms are ionized.