Recent results of a joint experiment indicate that the scientists have succeeded in reproducing matter as it first appeared in the universe; this matter is called the quark-gluon plasma. The latest Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) findings come from experiments conducted from January through March of 2003, in which a beam of heavy gold nuclei collides head-on with a beam of deuterons.

The scientists are not yet ready to claim the discovery of the quark-gluon plasma, however. That must await corroborating experiments, now under way at RHIC.

If further scientific research proves that a quark-gluon plasma has been made, the physics story has just begun. By studying the behavior of free quarks and gluons in the plasma, RHIC scientists hope to learn more about the strong nuclear force - the force that holds quarks together in protons and neutrons. >from *Exciting First Results from Deuteron-Gold Collisions at Brookhaven . Findings intensify search for new form of matter*. June 11, 2003

related context
> quark-gluon plasma
> oldest light: milestone in cosmology. february 17, 2003
> first light . august 14, 2001

imago
> whatever the smallest, most fundamental entities seem to be