| Definition: | state of a medium distinguishable by its physical properties from other states of the same or other media NOTE Any state of matter, such as solid, liquid, or gas, constitutes always a phase separate from other states of matter. Under usual condition, a gas is in one phase only. Non-mixable liquid components are in different phases. Different solid phases are associated with different structures, e.g. diamond and graphite, or paramagnetic and ferromagnetic materials.
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