Explain the microscopic scale of how a substance can undergo a phase change when he is added what happens to electrostatic forces as a substance moves from solid to liquid to gas
When a substance undergoes a phase change, such as melting from a solid to a liquid or evaporating from a liquid to a gas, the arrangement and movement of its particles change at the microscopic scale.
At the solid state, the particles of the substance (atoms, molecules, or ions) are tightly packed and bounded in a regular pattern known as a crystal lattice. The particles vibrate in fixed positions due to the electrostatic forces of attraction between them. These forces, called intermolecular forces or intramolecular forces, hold the particles together.
As heat is added to the solid, the particles gain energy and start to vibrate more vigorously. Eventually, this increase in energy overcomes the attractive forces holding the particles in fixed positions. The particles begin to move more freely, and at a certain temperature, the substance reaches its melting point. At this point, the substance undergoes a phase change and transitions from a solid to a liquid.
In the liquid state, the particles are still attracted to each other, but they are no longer bound in a rigid structure. Instead, they move more fluidly, slipping and sliding past each other. The intermolecular forces still exist but are weaker in comparison to the solid state. The particles have enough energy to overcome the forces holding them in fixed positions and now interact more through random collisions.
If more heat is added to the liquid, the particles gain even more energy, and their movement becomes faster and more chaotic. At a certain temperature called the boiling point, the substance undergoes another phase change from a liquid to a gas. In the gas state, the particles have enough energy to completely break free from the attractive forces and move independently of each other.
Overall, as a substance moves from a solid to a liquid to a gas, the electrostatic forces decrease in strength. In the solid state, the forces are strong enough to maintain the fixed structure. In the liquid state, the forces are weaker, allowing the particles to move more freely. And in the gas state, the forces are essentially negligible, and the particles move independently and randomly in all directions.