Types of solids

• A lattice is a 3D system of points designating the position of the components that make up a solid.
• Silicon is hard with a high melting point.
• Graphite has a high melting point because the covalent bonds between the carbon atoms making up each layer are relatively strong.
• Diamond has a very high boiling point due to the large number of covalent bonds between its atoms.
• Metallic solids are malleable and ductile, but ionic solids are brittle.
• Metallic solids are good conductors of heat and electricity, but ionic solids only conduct when molten or dissolved in water.
• Ionic solids tend not to dissolve in nonpolar solvents, but dissolve in water.
• In interstitial alloys, smaller atoms fill up spaces between bigger atoms. In substitutional alloys, atoms replace other atoms because they have the same size.