{
  "id": "matter.substance",
  "term": "matter",
  "sense": "substance",
  "pos": "noun",
  "status": "published",
  "level": 1,
  "arena": "E1",
  "domain": "physics",
  "style": null,
  "definition": "A pattern of energy that is in one place in space through time.",
  "folk_gloss": null,
  "emergence": {
    "components": [
      "energy.capacity",
      "pattern.regularity",
      "space.extent",
      "time.dimension"
    ],
    "interaction": "Energy binds into a stable pattern that holds one place in space and continues through time.",
    "novel_properties": [
      "persistence",
      "location",
      "countable identity"
    ]
  },
  "examples": [
    {
      "text": "The Earth's inner core remains solid iron at 5700 K due to immense pressure over billions of years.",
      "domain": "geophysics"
    },
    {
      "text": "A standing wave in a plucked guitar string persists at 440 Hz while vibrating.",
      "domain": "acoustics"
    },
    {
      "text": "The International Space Station maintains its structural integrity in low Earth orbit despite micrometeoroid impacts.",
      "domain": "engineering"
    }
  ],
  "relations": [],
  "used_by": [
    "account.financial",
    "air.material",
    "art.creative",
    "auto.vehicle",
    "beach.geographic",
    "bed.furniture",
    "biological.life",
    "black.color",
    "body.physical",
    "building.structure",
    "bush.plant",
    "carrying.transporting",
    "cell.biological",
    "charged.electrical",
    "color.visual",
    "construction.building",
    "container.object",
    "content.material",
    "cover.object",
    "create.production",
    "current.fluid",
    "degree.measurement",
    "device.tool",
    "display.visual",
    "dog.animal",
    "electrical.electrical",
    "electricity.electrical",
    "environment.surroundings",
    "extent.spatial",
    "female.sex",
    "fire.combustion",
    "flow.movement",
    "fluid.liquid",
    "food.nutrient",
    "foot.body-part",
    "force.push",
    "free.unconstrained",
    "full.state",
    "furniture.home",
    "gas.state",
    "growth.development",
    "hand.part",
    "hardware.physical",
    "health.condition",
    "heart.organ",
    "heat.thermal",
    "hill.geographic",
    "holes.empty-regions",
    "hot.temperature",
    "house.dwelling",
    "image.visual",
    "island.geographic",
    "issue.problem",
    "land.geography",
    "life.biological",
    "liquid.state",
    "live.biological",
    "material.physical",
    "metal.element",
    "mind.cognitive",
    "nature.ordinary",
    "object.entity",
    "occupied.spatial",
    "page.sheet",
    "paper.material",
    "photo.visual",
    "physical.material",
    "post.mail",
    "production.manufacturing",
    "products.goods",
    "real.actual",
    "research.investigation",
    "resource.material",
    "road.transport",
    "rock.material",
    "sand.material",
    "science.knowledge",
    "see.visual",
    "sex.biological",
    "shape.geometric",
    "silver.metal",
    "size.measurement",
    "soft.physical",
    "sound.auditory",
    "star.celestial",
    "storage.physical",
    "stuff.material",
    "sun.celestial",
    "supplies.resource",
    "surroundings.environment",
    "technology.tool",
    "thermal.heat",
    "volume.spatial",
    "water.liquid",
    "world.place",
    "yellow.color"
  ],
  "forms": [
    "matter"
  ],
  "closed": true,
  "provenance": {
    "author": "hand",
    "date": "2026-07-29",
    "confidence": 1.0
  },
  "canonical": "https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-matter.substance"
}