Quasi-solid

Quasisolid or semisolid is the physical term for something that lies along the boundary between a solid and a liquid. While similar to a solid in some respects, in that semisolids can support their own weight and hold their shapes, a quasisolid also shares some properties of liquids, such as conforming in shape to something applying pressure to it and the ability to flow under pressure. The words quasisolid, semisolid, and semiliquid all mean exactly the same thing.

Quasisolids and semisolids are also known as amorphous solids because at the microscopic scale they have a disordered structure unlike the more common crystalline solids.

Examples

Petroleum jelly - a mixture of hydrocarbons extracted from crude oil and subsequently refined, has semisolid properties. It is used topically on human skin to promote healing of minor irritation or burns. It is also used to help heal chapped or sunburned lips.

States of matter

State	Solid Liquid Gas / Vapor Plasma

Low energy	Bose–Einstein condensate Fermionic condensate Degenerate matter Quantum Hall Rydberg matter Strange matter Superfluid Supersolid Photonic matter

High energy	QCD matter Lattice QCD Quark–gluon plasma Supercritical fluid

Other states	Colloid Glass Liquid crystal Quantum spin liquid Magnetically ordered Antiferromagnet Ferrimagnet Ferromagnet String-net liquid Superglass

Transitions	Boiling Boiling point Condensation Critical line Critical point Crystallization Deposition Evaporation Flash evaporation Freezing Chemical ionization Ionization Lambda point Melting Melting point Recombination Regelation Saturated fluid Sublimation Supercooling Triple point Vaporization Vitrification

Quantities	Enthalpy of fusion Enthalpy of sublimation Enthalpy of vaporization Latent heat Latent internal energy Trouton's ratio Volatility

Concepts	Binodal Compressed fluid Cooling curve Equation of state Leidenfrost effect macroscopic quantum phenomena Mpemba effect Order and disorder (physics) Spinodal Superconductivity Superheated vapor Superheating Thermo-dielectric effect

Lists	List of states of matter

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