Is a single radon daughter atom in air a solid?Does thermodynamic processess affect phase transition in solid...
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Is a single radon daughter atom in air a solid?
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Is a single radon daughter atom in air a solid?
The wikipedia article on radon says: "Unlike the gaseous radon itself, radon daughters are solids and stick to surfaces, such as dust particles in the air. If such contaminated dust is inhaled, these particles can also cause lung cancer." The statement made me wonder about the right terminology. Is a single radon daughter atom in air, like Po-218, a solid or a gas? I would think it is a gas because it resembles a vapor atom, or a sublimated atom from a solid. And maybe it is a 'potential' solid?
phase-transition
asked 8 hours ago
jkienjkien
1,067169
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add a comment |
$begingroup$
Is a single radon daughter atom in air a solid?
The wikipedia article on radon says: "Unlike the gaseous radon itself, radon daughters are solids and stick to surfaces, such as dust particles in the air. If such contaminated dust is inhaled, these particles can also cause lung cancer." The statement made me wonder about the right terminology. Is a single radon daughter atom in air, like Po-218, a solid or a gas? I would think it is a gas because it resembles a vapor atom, or a sublimated atom from a solid. And maybe it is a 'potential' solid?
phase-transition
asked 8 hours ago
jkienjkien
1,067169
$endgroup$
add a comment |
$begingroup$
Is a single radon daughter atom in air a solid?
The wikipedia article on radon says: "Unlike the gaseous radon itself, radon daughters are solids and stick to surfaces, such as dust particles in the air. If such contaminated dust is inhaled, these particles can also cause lung cancer." The statement made me wonder about the right terminology. Is a single radon daughter atom in air, like Po-218, a solid or a gas? I would think it is a gas because it resembles a vapor atom, or a sublimated atom from a solid. And maybe it is a 'potential' solid?
phase-transition
asked 8 hours ago
jkienjkien
1,067169
$endgroup$
Is a single radon daughter atom in air a solid?
The wikipedia article on radon says: "Unlike the gaseous radon itself, radon daughters are solids and stick to surfaces, such as dust particles in the air. If such contaminated dust is inhaled, these particles can also cause lung cancer." The statement made me wonder about the right terminology. Is a single radon daughter atom in air, like Po-218, a solid or a gas? I would think it is a gas because it resembles a vapor atom, or a sublimated atom from a solid. And maybe it is a 'potential' solid?
phase-transition
phase-transition
asked 8 hours ago
jkienjkien
1,067169
asked 8 hours ago
jkienjkien
1,067169
asked 8 hours ago
jkienjkien
1,067169
asked 8 hours ago
jkienjkien
1,067169
asked 8 hours ago
jkienjkien
1,067169
1,067169
add a comment |
add a comment |
2 Answers
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When the Wikipedia article says that radon daughters are "solids", the authors actually mean, "If you get a bunch of radon daughter atoms together, then they would form a solid." The state of matter is a property of a large number of atoms, so a single atom in isolation doesn't strictly have a well-defined state.
That said, states of matter are primarily a function of the interactions between atoms. Atoms that weakly interact* with themselves and their environment are likely to be gases, while atoms that strongly interact* with other atoms are likely to be liquids or solids. So Wikipedia appears to be using the state of matter as a shorthand for the strength of interactions. Essentially, radon daughters, unlike radon (which is a noble gas), stick to each other and to the walls, which is the same property that makes large collections of radon daughters solids.
*"weakly" and "strongly" don't refer to the fundamental weak and strong nuclear interactions here, of course, but to the general idea of having a small or large coupling constant in whatever interaction you're examining.
answered 8 hours ago
probably_someoneprobably_someone
20.5k13164
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add a comment |
$begingroup$
A single atom is not a solid, a liquid, or a gas. These three terms refer to how large numbers of atoms or molecules behave, and they have no meaning for a single atom.
answered 8 hours ago
G. SmithG. Smith
16.1k12753
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2 Answers
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2 Answers
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$begingroup$
When the Wikipedia article says that radon daughters are "solids", the authors actually mean, "If you get a bunch of radon daughter atoms together, then they would form a solid." The state of matter is a property of a large number of atoms, so a single atom in isolation doesn't strictly have a well-defined state.
That said, states of matter are primarily a function of the interactions between atoms. Atoms that weakly interact* with themselves and their environment are likely to be gases, while atoms that strongly interact* with other atoms are likely to be liquids or solids. So Wikipedia appears to be using the state of matter as a shorthand for the strength of interactions. Essentially, radon daughters, unlike radon (which is a noble gas), stick to each other and to the walls, which is the same property that makes large collections of radon daughters solids.
*"weakly" and "strongly" don't refer to the fundamental weak and strong nuclear interactions here, of course, but to the general idea of having a small or large coupling constant in whatever interaction you're examining.
answered 8 hours ago
probably_someoneprobably_someone
20.5k13164
$endgroup$
add a comment |
$begingroup$
When the Wikipedia article says that radon daughters are "solids", the authors actually mean, "If you get a bunch of radon daughter atoms together, then they would form a solid." The state of matter is a property of a large number of atoms, so a single atom in isolation doesn't strictly have a well-defined state.
That said, states of matter are primarily a function of the interactions between atoms. Atoms that weakly interact* with themselves and their environment are likely to be gases, while atoms that strongly interact* with other atoms are likely to be liquids or solids. So Wikipedia appears to be using the state of matter as a shorthand for the strength of interactions. Essentially, radon daughters, unlike radon (which is a noble gas), stick to each other and to the walls, which is the same property that makes large collections of radon daughters solids.
*"weakly" and "strongly" don't refer to the fundamental weak and strong nuclear interactions here, of course, but to the general idea of having a small or large coupling constant in whatever interaction you're examining.
answered 8 hours ago
probably_someoneprobably_someone
20.5k13164
$endgroup$
add a comment |
$begingroup$
When the Wikipedia article says that radon daughters are "solids", the authors actually mean, "If you get a bunch of radon daughter atoms together, then they would form a solid." The state of matter is a property of a large number of atoms, so a single atom in isolation doesn't strictly have a well-defined state.
That said, states of matter are primarily a function of the interactions between atoms. Atoms that weakly interact* with themselves and their environment are likely to be gases, while atoms that strongly interact* with other atoms are likely to be liquids or solids. So Wikipedia appears to be using the state of matter as a shorthand for the strength of interactions. Essentially, radon daughters, unlike radon (which is a noble gas), stick to each other and to the walls, which is the same property that makes large collections of radon daughters solids.
*"weakly" and "strongly" don't refer to the fundamental weak and strong nuclear interactions here, of course, but to the general idea of having a small or large coupling constant in whatever interaction you're examining.
answered 8 hours ago
probably_someoneprobably_someone
20.5k13164
$endgroup$
When the Wikipedia article says that radon daughters are "solids", the authors actually mean, "If you get a bunch of radon daughter atoms together, then they would form a solid." The state of matter is a property of a large number of atoms, so a single atom in isolation doesn't strictly have a well-defined state.
That said, states of matter are primarily a function of the interactions between atoms. Atoms that weakly interact* with themselves and their environment are likely to be gases, while atoms that strongly interact* with other atoms are likely to be liquids or solids. So Wikipedia appears to be using the state of matter as a shorthand for the strength of interactions. Essentially, radon daughters, unlike radon (which is a noble gas), stick to each other and to the walls, which is the same property that makes large collections of radon daughters solids.
*"weakly" and "strongly" don't refer to the fundamental weak and strong nuclear interactions here, of course, but to the general idea of having a small or large coupling constant in whatever interaction you're examining.
answered 8 hours ago
probably_someoneprobably_someone
20.5k13164
edited 8 hours ago
answered 8 hours ago
probably_someoneprobably_someone
20.5k13164
answered 8 hours ago
probably_someoneprobably_someone
20.5k13164
answered 8 hours ago
probably_someoneprobably_someone
20.5k13164
20.5k13164
add a comment |
add a comment |
$begingroup$
A single atom is not a solid, a liquid, or a gas. These three terms refer to how large numbers of atoms or molecules behave, and they have no meaning for a single atom.
answered 8 hours ago
G. SmithG. Smith
16.1k12753
$endgroup$
add a comment |
$begingroup$
A single atom is not a solid, a liquid, or a gas. These three terms refer to how large numbers of atoms or molecules behave, and they have no meaning for a single atom.
answered 8 hours ago
G. SmithG. Smith
16.1k12753
$endgroup$
add a comment |
$begingroup$
A single atom is not a solid, a liquid, or a gas. These three terms refer to how large numbers of atoms or molecules behave, and they have no meaning for a single atom.
answered 8 hours ago
G. SmithG. Smith
16.1k12753
$endgroup$
A single atom is not a solid, a liquid, or a gas. These three terms refer to how large numbers of atoms or molecules behave, and they have no meaning for a single atom.
answered 8 hours ago
G. SmithG. Smith
16.1k12753
answered 8 hours ago
G. SmithG. Smith
16.1k12753
answered 8 hours ago
G. SmithG. Smith
16.1k12753
answered 8 hours ago
G. SmithG. Smith
16.1k12753
16.1k12753
add a comment |
add a comment |
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