The Human Body, Solid? Liquid? Gas?

[Nicholas Kang]

Is the human body a solid, liquid or a gas?

[Greg H.]

It contains all three. Can you clarify your question? You'd probably get a more precise answer that way.

[Nicholas Kang]

This is just a pure thought. i don`t mean to clarify my question even deeper. Just a simple question? Is the whole human body a solid, liquid or gas? refer to the whole human body not specifically any organ, cell or tissue. Just the whole, complex body.

[Spyman]

Well, then answer this simple question: is the whole complex body of a glass bottle, half filled with water and air, solid, liquid or gas?

[Nicholas Kang]

I am a stupid boy. Can you please tell me the truth(true meaning)? I can`t figure out what you mean.

[sunshaker]

Well, then answer this simple question: is the whole complex body of a glass bottle, half filled with water and air, solid, liquid or gas?

It's more to do with the vessel, Remove lid from bottle, Water evaporates as a gas leaving an empty vessel.

 

We are mainly a (oxygen) gas-liquid in a pressurized state,

 

 

 

We are walking talking gaseous "universes" held in a vessel under pressure. Release that pressure and we break down into each separate state.

 

My mum said i started with a big bang , I quickly expanded to who I am know, A UNIVERSE WITHIN A UNIVERSE.

[Spyman]

I am a stupid boy. Can you please tell me the truth(true meaning)? I can`t figure out what you mean.

I don't think you are stupid, curiosity often go hand in hand with intelligence.

 

Greg H. told you the answer in post #2, the whole human body contains all three states of matter, just like the half filled bottle.

 

As an example: bones are solid, blood are liquid and we breathe air, you can't classify all the different parts in one simple state.

[Delta1212]

This is just a pure thought. i don`t mean to clarify my question even deeper. Just a simple question? Is the whole human body a solid, liquid or gas? refer to the whole human body not specifically any organ, cell or tissue. Just the whole, complex body.

None of the above. You can't classify composite materials as if they were a single substance.

 

To take from the example above, is a glass of water a solid or a liquid? Well, the glass is a solid and the water is a liquid. The glass of water is not a solid or a liquid, it is a solid containing a liquid.

 

Similarly, the human body is not a solid, liquid or gas. It's a combination of a lot of different substances, some of which are solids, some liquids and some gasses. Trying to treat the human body as if it were a single unit is going to lead to a lot of confusion because it isn't made up of some homogenous substance that can be classified in that way.

[Nicholas Kang]

No answer to this question? Invalid question?

[Greg H.]

No answer to this question? Invalid question?

The question, as phrased, is a poor way of looking at the subject. As we have pointed out, the human body is a composite object, and thus contains different states of matter at the same time. It can react to forces like a solid or a liquid/gas filled solid membrane depending on which part of the body is reacting.to the outside force. If you absolutely had no choice but to pick only ONE state, I would probably go with solid, since that's how most people perceive and interact with it - but it's a really simple way of answering the question.

[Nicholas Kang]

Thanks Greg H. I appreciate your answer.

[JediFrog]

I believe he means this: What is the state of cells in the human body? like how water is a liquid at room temperature. You wouldn't say water is neither liquid, gas, or solid, for, water is proven to be a liquid at room temperature. So, if we say molecules and compounds can be classified as solid, liquid, or gas, what is the state of human cells? Could their be a liquid-solid state of matter that is what our state is? Or, are we a state of matter that hasn't been found in the world besides in animals?

Edited February 27, 2015 by JediFrog

[Delta1212]

I believe he means this: What is the state of cells in the human body? like how water is a liquid at room temperature. You wouldn't say water is neither liquid, gas, or solid, for, water is proven to be a liquid at room temperature. So, if we say molecules and compounds can be classified as solid, liquid, or gas, what is the state of human cells? Could their be a liquid-solid state of matter that is what our state is? Or, are we a state of matter that hasn't been found in the world besides in animals?

Is a water balloon a solid or a liquid?

[Greg H.]

Is a water balloon a solid or a liquid?

There are four states of matter: gas, liquid, solid, and plasma.

Liquid-solid is not a state of matter, it's a transition phase - a glass of ice water, for example, is in that transition phase while the ice is melthing into the water. But the ice is not liquid, and the water is not solid.

 

That's why the original question is poorly worded. Some parts of the human body - the bones, for example, and solid. Other parts, such as the blood, are liquid. The air in your lungs is obviously a gas. So how do you choose just one of those phases and say the human body is solid/liquid/gas?

 

As I said originally, if I had to pick one, I would choose sollid, because that's how the body interacts with the world the majority of the time. But it's a terrible question.