Teachers taught us the 3 states of matter, but there’s a 4th called plasma. Why weren’t we taught all 4 around the same time?

Question

Teachers taught us the 3 states of matter, but there’s a 4th called plasma. Why weren’t we taught all 4 around the same time?

In: Planetary Science

Answer 1

Somehow I haven’t seen this answer yet: the “basic” 3 states of matter are the only ones where the atoms are intact. Plasma, exotic condensates, etc all involve subatomic particles. But if you’ve got electrons bound to a nucleus, you’re talking about either a solid, liquid, or gas.