What is the Meaning of Molten State

Question: What is the meaning of molten state?

Answer: The term “molten state” refers to an object that has been heated to liquid form. Molten refers to an element or compound that has been melted into a liquid form. To turn a material that was once solid into a liquid condition, extremely high temperatures are required. The combination is hydrated in water or any other solvent to achieve an aqueous state. The term ‘molten’ refers to the melting of a solid substance into a liquid state. The change in state is usually caused by the solid object being heated. The boiling lava that rushes out is nothing but molten rock, thus you’ve probably heard the word molten associated with the volcano.

The word molten comes from the Latin word’meltian,’ which means ‘to become liquid.’ Any solid substance can absorb heat and transform from solid to liquid, then to gas. To produce a substance in a molten state, one must first determine the element’s or compound’s particular melting point. 

Let’s look at how the breaking of bonds transforms a solid state into a molten state. 

The structure of a solid substance is dense and securely linked. There is a change in the intermolecular bonds of weak intermolecular forces when it transitions to a molten state. When a substance is in a molten/liquid state, however, all intermolecular linkages remain intact. In contrast, all intermolecular forces are broken in gases.

It’s also important to remember that during a phase transition, no intramolecular connections are broken. When compared to solid-state particles, the particles in a molten form have higher energy. 

A substance’s molten state is its liquid condition.

Mercury and bromine are metals that are molten at ordinary temperature (25oC) and at normal pressure. Metals such as Caesium, Francium, Rubidium, and Gallium, for example, liquefy when exposed to a slight increase in temperature (25o-40oC) and 1 atm. In addition, the liquefied state is the same as the molten state.