For very small concentrations, far from the surface density compatible with the collapse of the monolayer (which leads to polylayers structures) the surfactant molecules execute a random motion on the water–air interface. This motion can be thought to be similar to the motion of ideal-gas molecules enclosed in a container. The corresponding thermodynamic variables for the surfactant system are, surface pressure (formula_1), surface area (A) and number of surfactant molecules (N). This system behaves similar to a gas in a container. The density of surfactant molecules as well as the surface pressure increases upon reducing the surface area A ('compression' of the 'gas'). Further compression of the surfactant molecules on the surface shows behavior similar to phase transitions. The ‘gas’ gets compressed into ‘liquid’ and ultimately into a perfectly closed packed array of the surfactant molecules on the surface corresponding to a ‘solid’ state. The liquid state is usually separated in the liquid-expanded and liquid-condensed states. All the Langmuir film states are classified according to the compressionality factor of the films, defined as , usually related to the in-plane elasticity of the monolayer.