LIQUID:

The liquid state may be regarded as the intermediate state between the gaseous and the solid states of matter. Liquide and gases are both fluids and flow rendity under applied stress, but like solids, liquids are dena krelatively incompressible and have properties that are largely determined by the nature and strength of intermolecular forces.

STRUCTURAL DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GASES, LIQUIDS AND SOLIDS:

 In gases, the molecules are widely separated from one another, moving freely in space and are in completely random arrangement. But in liquids, the molecules are close to each other and there is very little space between the molecules. However the random movement of the molecules may often leave holes at places in the bulk of the liquid. In solids, the malecules are closely packed in the form of a crystal lattice, are not free to move, and possess vibratory motion only. The major difference in the microscopic structure of gases, liquids and solid involves randomness and order. A gas has essentially no order. A liquid has short-range order and long-range disorder. The molecules in a small region of the liquid may have an orderly arrangement, but this arrangement is not repeated throughout the liquid. Solids have both long-range as well as short-range order. A solid has its constituent particles arranged in a regularly ordered internal array

In a gas any particular molecule is not surrounded by a definite number of molecules, while in a liquid any particular molecule is surrounded by a definite number of molecules, arranged in a regular manner in a small region. In a solid, the number of atoms or molecules at any distance from the individual atom is fixed. A gas has no definite surface while a liquid as well as solid has a definite surface as the molecules cannot easily escape from the surface. The X-ray diffraction studies of liquids show the presence of short-range order. long-range disorder and holes in the packing of molecules. The structure of a liquid depends somewhat on the geometry and intermolecular forces of the molecules.