# Extreme temperature changes: What happens to an atom at the atomic level?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extreme-temperature-changes-what-happens-to-an-atom-at-the-atomic-level/288661
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [February 6, 2005, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extreme-temperature-changes-what-happens-to-an-atom-at-the-atomic-level/288661 "2005-02-06T16:07:47Z")
**Posts on this page:** 8
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)
#### Post date: [February 6, 2005, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extreme-temperature-changes-what-happens-to-an-atom-at-the-atomic-level/288661/1 "2005-02-06T16:07:47Z")
So, with most elements, at certain temperatures they become liquid, solid, or gaseous. If it were possible to see atoms at the atomic level (say, I was Ray Palmer, for example), what changes would be happening? Or, in other words, what happens at the molecular level that makes the atoms sorta stick together, as in a solid; then slide easily against one another, as in a liquid; then go bouncing around in the air, as in a gas? OK, obviously coming from someone with only high chool chemistry, so the terminology might not be very accurate, but hopefully it makes enough sense.
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### Author:  [@SandyHook](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SandyHook)
#### Post date: [February 6, 2005, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extreme-temperature-changes-what-happens-to-an-atom-at-the-atomic-level/288661/2 "2005-02-06T17:00:35Z")
> [@](#):
>
> If it were possible to see atoms at the atomic level (say, I was Ray Palmer, for example),
Who is Ray Palmer?
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### Author:  [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)
#### Post date: [February 6, 2005, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extreme-temperature-changes-what-happens-to-an-atom-at-the-atomic-level/288661/3 "2005-02-06T17:09:27Z")
> [@SandyHook](#):
>
> Who is Ray Palmer?
[Ray Palmer](http://homepage.mac.com/joebergeron/atom.htm) is a modern incarnation of Scott Carey, [The Incredible Shrinking Man](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050539/?fr=c2l0ZT1kZnxteD0yMHxzZz0xfGxtPTIwMHx0dD0xfGZiPXV8cG49MHxzb3VyY2VpZD1tb3ppbGxhLXNlYXJjaHxxPSJzaHJpbmtpbmcgbWFuInxodG1sPTF8bm09MQ__;fc=1;ft=21;fm=1)
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### Author:  [@Dr.Lao](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Lao)
#### Post date: [February 6, 2005, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extreme-temperature-changes-what-happens-to-an-atom-at-the-atomic-level/288661/4 "2005-02-06T17:10:55Z")
> [@Earl Snake-Hips Tucker](#):
>
> So, with most elements, at certain temperatures they become liquid, solid, or gaseous. If it were possible to see atoms at the atomic level (say, I was Ray Palmer, for example), what changes would be happening? Or, in other words, what happens at the molecular level that makes the atoms sorta stick together, as in a solid; then slide easily against one another, as in a liquid; then go bouncing around in the air, as in a gas?
The molecules (or atoms) are just moving faster in liquids and gases than they are in solids.
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### Author:  [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)
#### Post date: [February 6, 2005, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extreme-temperature-changes-what-happens-to-an-atom-at-the-atomic-level/288661/5 "2005-02-06T17:13:19Z")
Since temperature is the energy of the atoms’ motions relative to each other, probably not a lot is changing in the atoms themselves. It’s just that at certain temperature thresholds the random momentum of the atoms starts to overcome the forces that hold them together.
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### Author:  [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)
#### Post date: [February 6, 2005, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extreme-temperature-changes-what-happens-to-an-atom-at-the-atomic-level/288661/6 "2005-02-06T17:23:06Z")
Two comments.
One, The name Ray Palmer for the modern Atom was taken from Ray Palmer, the 1930s science fiction pulp writer, notable for “The Girl in the Golden Atom” - a story about just what the title suggests.
Two, I’m not anything happens at the atomic level. At the molecular level, however, temperature affects vibrations and structure formation. Very cold molecules have less freedom of movement and can be trapped into the regular crystals of some solids. Even non-crystalline structures are very regular compared to liquids and gases. As temperatures rise, the vibrations destroy regularity and allow the molecules to slid past one another, creating the liquids and gases. At extremely high temperatures, the molecules break up and plasmas form.
See this wikipedia article on [Phases of matter](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phases_of_matter).
It’s also touched on tangentially in [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=299054).
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### Author:  [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)
#### Post date: [February 6, 2005, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extreme-temperature-changes-what-happens-to-an-atom-at-the-atomic-level/288661/7 "2005-02-06T18:09:04Z")
Not quite sure what you’re after, but here are a few thoughts.
The nature of temperature on the ultra-microscopic level, as others have mentioned, is the kinetic energy of individual atoms or molecules with respect to each other. If the temperature factor is the primary one affecting these particles, then they shoot off in all directions and bounce off each other, which is what makes them gaseous.
Particles also have tendencies to attract each other on an electromagnetic level, though, and this force is what can make matter liquid or solid. Solids, on the ultra-microscopic level, are held together in some sort of a lattice or matrix, with almost all particles staying in the same neighborhood as the majority of their neighbors, just vibrating back and forth or some such.
Liquids are attracted enough that every particle stays near several other particles at all times, but not so much that they fall into any kind of stable matrix. The neighbors of any given particle are always changing from moment to moment – Kind of like a giant, fairly packed rink of bumper cars.
Does that help at all??
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### Author:  [@DougC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DougC)
#### Post date: [February 6, 2005, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/extreme-temperature-changes-what-happens-to-an-atom-at-the-atomic-level/288661/8 "2005-02-06T20:24:55Z")
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- Obligatory TMBG reference:
"Particle man, particle man
Doing the things a particle can
What’s he like? It’s not important
Particle man
Is he a dot, or is he a speck?
When he’s underwater does he get wet?
Or does the water get him instead?
Nobody knows, Particle man…"
~