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inertia, property of a body by virtue of which it opposes any agency that attempts to put it in motion or,
if it is moving, to change the magnitude or direction of its velocity. Inertia is a passive property and does
not enable a body to do anything except oppose such active agents as forces and torques. A moving
body keeps moving not because of its inertia but only because of the absence of a force to slow it down,
change its course, or speed it up.

There are two numerical measures of the inertia of a body: its mass, which governs its resistance to the
action of a force, and its moment of inertia about a specified axis, which measures its resistance to the
action of a torque about the same axis. See Newton’s laws of motion.

Italian-born physicist Dr. Enrico Fermi draws a diagram at a blackboard with mathematical equations.
circa 1950.

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Augustyn.

phase

Table of Contents

Introduction

General considerations

System variables

Applications to petrology
References & Edit History

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phase, in thermodynamics, chemically and physically uniform or homogeneous quantity of matter that
can be separated mechanically from a nonhomogeneous mixture and that may consist of a single
substance or a mixture of substances. The three fundamental phases of matter are solid, liquid, and gas
(vapour), but others are considered to exist, including crystalline, colloid, glassy, amorphous, and plasma
phases. When a phase in one form is altered to another form, a phase change is said to have occurred.

General considerations
phase change

phase change

A system is a portion of the universe that has been chosen for studying the changes that take place
within it in response to varying conditions. A system may be complex, such as a planet, or relatively
simple, as the liquid within a glass. Those portions of a system that are physically distinct and
mechanically separable from other portions of the system are called phases.

states of matter

states of matter

Phases within a system exist in a gaseous, liquid, or solid state. Solids are characterized by strong atomic
bonding and high viscosity, resulting in a rigid shape. Most solids are crystalline, inasmuch as they have a
three-dimensional periodic atomic arrangement; some solids (such as glass) lack this periodic
arrangement and are noncrystalline, or amorphous. Gases consist of weakly bonded atoms with no long-
range periodicity; gases expand to fill any available space. Liquids have properties intermediate between
those of solids and gases. The molecules of a liquid are condensed like those of a solid. Liquids have a
definite volume, but their low viscosity enables them to change shape as a function of time. The matter
within a system may consist of more than one solid or liquid phase, but a system can contain only a
single gas phase, which must be of homogeneous composition because the molecules of gases mix
completely in all proportions.

System variables

Systems respond to changes in pressure, temperature, and chemical composition, and, as this happens,
phases may be created, eliminated, or altered in composition. For example, an increase in pressure may
cause a low-density liquid to convert to a denser solid, while an increase in temperature may cause a
solid to melt. A change of composition might result in the compositional modification of a preexisting
phase or in the gain or loss of a phase.