Do the particles in steel move?

Answer 1

As a solid, the atoms in steel are vibrating and stay in fixed positions. As the steel is heated, the molecules begin to vibrate faster and the intermolecular bonds weaken, allowing for some small movement.

Answer 2

Solid steel is crystalline, therefore its atoms do not move around, but only vibrate. In crystalline solids, energy is conducted through their bulk in a complicated way, which solid state physicists currently model using a quasiparticle called a phonon. The speed of a phonon through the bulk of a solid is taken to be the speed of sound in the solid, though it also indirectly defines things like thermal and electrical conductivity.

Answer 3

Most of the motion of particles IN a solid are just vibrations, although there is actually extremely slow diffusion within a solid - on geological time scales.

When particles of a solid are suspended in a liquid, you may be able to detect Brownian motion if the particles are small enough to be affected by the vibrations and collisions of the molecules of the liquid.

If particles of a solid are small enough that their terminal velocity in on the scale of the currents of a gas, you can get liquids entrained in the gas. Examples are dust particles that stay suspended in air, dust storms, and sand storms.

Answer 4

Steel may have molecules of impurities but steel is not molecular. The atoms of metals, such as steel, form a special type of bond that is like grapes in jello, where the grapes are the metal atoms and the jello is a sea of electrons in constant motion that sticks it all together.

Continuing with the jello analogy, at temperatures above absolute zero, the metal atoms will 'wiggle' like the grapes in the jello when you shake it. The hotter it gets, the faster the atoms shake. If it shakes fast enough (gets hot enough) the metal will melt.

Answer 5

Yes, the particles in steel are in constant motion due to their thermal energy. This motion is what gives steel its flexibility and ability to deform under stress. However, the movement of steel particles is typically very small and not visible to the naked eye.

Answer 6

Only in molten state, or when forming.