Characteristics of Solids

Some of the common properties of solids, which distinguish them from other two states of matter, are:
 Solids are rigid and have definite shapes.
 Solids have definite volume irrespective of the size or shape of the container in which they are placed.
 Solids are almost incompressible, having compressibility, which is approximately 10 6 times more than gases.
 Many solids have a crystalline appearance and have definite pattern of angles and planes.
 Solids diffuse very slowly as compared to liquids and gases. Constituent particles are very closely packed in solids
permitting very little space for their movement.
 Solids have a much higher density (mass to volume ratio) than that of gases and liquids.
 Most solids become liquids when heated. Some undergo sublimation on heating. The temperature at which a solid
changes into liquid is called the melting point and the process is called as melting. Due to the varying natures of solids their
melting temperatures vary considerably.
Solids are not easily compressible because there is little free space between particles. 

The molecules in a solid are closely packed together in an orderly arrangement, leaving no spaces in between the
molecules, therefore making compress difficult and almost impossible without use of machinery.

The molecules in a gas are always spaced out in a random pattern and without strong forces of attraction that hold
them together in an orderly arrangement unlike liquids where the molecules are closely packed but not in a orderly
arrangement and they cannot move freely, however can still move around, due to the not very strong forces of
attraction between them, and solids, where the molecules are closely packed into an orderly arrangement and they
can only move around in their fixed positions, therefore gas molecules can move freely and can be compressed into
the spaces between them.