Supercritical Fluids
I just read a Discover Magazine article in which they talked about a very interesting discovery: supercritical fluids. This state of matter has been theorized, but in August, the first known instance of it was observed and measured in a hydrothermal vent deep in the ocean.
In general, as heat increases, matter is more likely to be a gas. As pressure increases, it is more likely to be a fluid, and then a solid. In this instance, with the pressure of an ocean depth of nearly 10,000 feet, the magma-heated water, at 876 degrees F, acts as both a gas and a liquid.
My immediate thought is, "Does this continue?" It seems likely that as heat and pressure increase, more and more states would combine into one unified state. For example, it's likely that at the heart of stars, we would find supercritical solids, combining the properties of solids, liquids, and gases in one. Could it be that at the heart of black holes we would find a state where matter and energy are the same?
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