Smashing protons into lead ions creates quark-gluon plasma that behaves like liquid
Friday, December 6, 2013 - 10:31
in Physics & Chemistry
The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) in Switzerland is best known for its discovery of the Higgs boson, formed during collisions between bunches of protons travelling close to the speed of light. However, it has also been smashing protons into ions of lead to generate clouds of quarks and gluons—the fundamental particles inside the protons and neutrons of the atomic nucleus.