ABSTRACT
People have wondered about the properties of matter for many centuries and have written many excellent books on the subject. Even books that were printed half a century ago are relevant today. The properties of matter, and our theories about matter, have changed relatively little in this time. Before embarking on this contemporary study of the properties of matter, it is instructive to spend some time reviewing the historical context in which this study takes place. The problem of an improper over-familiarity with rather sophisticated theories about matter. The ‘stuff’ of the world – the matter – is diverse in its properties. Historically, division of the study of matter in this way allowed the emerging science of physics to appear successful at explaining and parameterising the simpler properties of inanimate matter. The conceptual division of matter into distinct categories of solid, liquid and gas was historically extremely important.
