Attaining Maximum Density
Almost all known substances undergo thermal expansion in response to heating, meaning that a given mass of substance contracts to a low volume at low temperatures, when little thermal energy is present. Substances, especially fluids in which intermolecular forces are weak, also undergo compression upon the application of pressure. Nearly all substances therefore reach a density maximum at very low temperatures and very high pressures, characteristic properties of the solid state of matter.
Read more about this topic: Maximum Density
Famous quotes containing the words attaining and/or maximum:
“All opinions in the world agree in this, that pleasure is our end, although they differ as to the means of attaining it.”
—Michel de Montaigne (1533–1592)
“I had a quick grasp of the secret to sanity—it had become the ability to hold the maximum of impossible combinations in one’s mind.”
—Norman Mailer (b. 1923)