Solid is one of the three main states of matter, along with liquid and gas. Matter is the "stuff" of the universe, the atoms, molecules and ions that make up all physical substances. In a solid, these particles are packed closely together and are not free to move about within the substance. Molecular motion for the particles in a solid is confined to very small vibrations of the atoms around their fixed positions; therefore, solids have a fixed shape that is difficult to change. Solids also have a definite volume; that is, they keep their size no matter how you try to change them.
Solids are divided into two main categories, crystalline solids and amorphous solids, based on how the particles are arranged.
Crystalline solids
Crystalline solids, or crystals, are regarded as "true solids." Minerals are crystalline solids. Common table salt is one example of this kind of solid. In crystalline solids, the atoms, ions or molecules are arranged in an ordered and symmetrical pattern that is repeated over the entire crystal. The smallest repeating structure of a solid is called a unit cell, which is like a brick in a wall. Unit cells combine to form a network called a crystal lattice. There are 14 types of lattices, called Bravais lattices (named after Auguste Bravais, a 19th-century French physicist), and they are classified into seven crystal systems based on the arrangement of the atoms. The ChemWiki page at the University of California, Davis lists these systems as cubic, hexagonal, tetragonal, rhombohedral, orthorhombic, monoclinic and triclinic.