Phases of matter

In the physical sciences, a phase is a part of a system that is uniform in chemical composition and physical structure and properties and is separated from other homogeneous parts of the system by boundary surfaces.

Phases of matter include solid, liquid, gas, and plasma.

Gibbs phase rule describes the number of phases that can be present at equilibrium for a given system.

In chemistry, phase also designates mutually insoluble substances in contact. One of these layers is typically a hydrophohic layer and the other a hydrophilic layer. For example if you mix water and oil and let it sit, it will separate into two distinct phases. One consists primarily of water and the other consisting of oil.

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