Physicists say they have created a new form of matter strongly resembling the stuff of the universe 1000th of a second after its birth.
This matter is called quark-gluon plasma and physicists believe it is key in understanding both the dawn of the universe and the interior of atomic nuclei.
"The matter we have created has properties that have never before been observed," said William Zajc of Columbia University, one of hundreds of researchers working on the project at Brookhaven National Laboratory.
Whether this new matter actually qualifies as the long-sought quark-gluon plasma is an issue for debate, but all of the scientists who heard the evidence agreed that what they have seen so far looks good.
...