Submitted by Zalack t3_11x4f9t in askscience
octonus t1_jd54mix wrote
Reply to comment by cracksmack85 in Can a single atom be determined to be in any particular phase of matter? by Zalack
We discuss states of matter in terms of how a molecule interacts with its neighbors. If the solvent is a liquid (water in the case of aqueous solution), all interactions that you would care about are liquid like. In the case of a solid solution ie. bronze they would be solid-like.
The key reason we note it as being a solution rather than a liquid is to point out that the neighbors a molecule interacts with are the solvent, rather than molecules of the same type.
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