distinguished between crystalline solid &amorphous solid? Related: Fu...
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Crystalline Solids
These are the most common type of solids. Their characteristics are what we associate solids with. They are firm, hold a definite and fixed shape, are rigid and incompressible. They generally have geometric shapes and flat faces. And examples include diamonds, metals, salts etc.
To understand crystals we must understand their structure. The arrangement of particles in a crystalline solid is in a very orderly fashion. These articles are arranged in a repeating pattern of a three-dimensional network. This network is known as a Crystal lattice and the smallest unit of a crystal is a Unit Cell. If you see the X-ray of a crystal this distinct arrangement of the unit cells will be clearly visible.
Learn more about Magnetic Properties of Solid here in detail.
The spaces between the atoms are very less due to high intermolecular forces. This results in crystals having high melting and boiling points. The intermolecular force is also uniform throughout the structure. Crystals have a long-range order, which means the arrangement of atoms is repeated over a great distance.
Amorphous Solids
Amorphous solids are rigid structures but they lack a well-defined shape. They do not have a geometric shape. So they are non-crystalline. This is why they do not have edges like crystals do. The most common example of an amorphous solid is Glass. Gels, plastics, various polymers, wax, thin films are also good examples of amorphous solids.
This variation in characteristics of solids occurs due to the arrangement of their molecules. Here the particles of matter do not form the three-dimensional lattice structure that we see in solids. Some naturally occurring amorphous solids have impurities that prevent such a structure from forming. So they have a short order arrangement of molecules.