Large Hadron Collider Creates Incredibly Dense Primordial Matter

[Tom Goldman]

Large Hadron Collider Creates Incredibly Dense Primordial Matter

The Large Hadron Collider has created a super-dense building block of existence.

Scientists operating the Large Hadron Collider have announced the creation of a new instance of quark-gluon plasma, the densest form of matter ever observed by humanity. The unique material is 100,000 times hotter than the sun and denser than any known object other than a black hole.

To put it in perspective somewhat, a neutron star is said to be approximately as dense as the entire human population compressed into a sugar cube (via Wikipedia [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutron_star], I know, but it gets the point across). Quark-gluon plasma is denser than that. LHC team leader David Evans says: "If you had a cubic centimeter of this stuff, it would weigh 40 billion tons." Somehow, a material such as this can exist in its current quantity without destroying everything we know and love.

It's believed that the universe existed as quark-gluon plasma until it cooled into what we're made of today. The LHC created it by smashing together lead ions at nearly the speed of light.

Quark-gluon plasma has been made before, though the version created at the LHC is of higher energy and scientists are recording slight differences in measurements as it cools. In both cases, the material has acted as a "perfect liquid." Evans explains: "If you stir a cup of tea with a spoon and then take the spoon out, the tea stirs for a while and then it stops. If you had a perfect liquid and you stirred it, it would carry on going around forever."

As the LHC moves to operate at its full capacity, which it isn't at the moment, more instances of quark-gluon plasma are predicted to be created along with some Dimension X [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/109540-The-LHC-Might-Have-Actually-Found-What-its-Been-Looking-For].

Source: National Geographic [http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/05/110524-densest-matter-created-lhc-alice-big-bang-space-science/]

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[microhive]

Someone had better make a sugarcubed sized blob of this stuff and just drop it on the floor.

The results would be hilarious.

Yeah, like pull the moon slowly towards and smashing into the surface of the earth by its immense gravitational pull.

 

[Braedan]

And so it begins.

Gentlemen, we are on the precipice of a new beginning.

What? Don't look at me like that...

 

[Owlslayer]

I...gah. Holy shit do i want to see a sugarcube made of that stuff...
And it really does seem like they're making something that just says "screw you, Physics!"
But I don't get a lot of science stuff, so don't mind that remark.

 

[Doclector]

Okay, so this is some big science, I guess.

Sadly, science isn't my strong point. So I'm just gonna plug my ears and think propulsion gel, m'kay?

 

[Spirultima]

I want to make someone tea, then put in that sugar cube. The resulting confusion from the cup and table, plus most of the floor would just be great.

 

[Loud Hawk]

Someone had better make a sugarcubed sized blob of this stuff and just drop it on the floor.

The results would be hilarious.

Am I the only one here that sees the flaw in this plan.

How would he pick it up in the first place.

On the other hand, imagine dropping it on your toe. OUCH!

 

[ChillShark]

Someone had better make a sugarcubed sized blob of this stuff and just drop it on the floor.

The results would be hilarious.

Yeah, like pull the moon slowly towards and smashing into the surface of the earth by its immense gravitational pull.

I was thinking more along the lines of, burns through to the center of the earth and begins to slowly draw all of the earths matter into it's incredibly dense blob until nothing is left.

Almost right. The best visual representation I can think of that would happen was that one episode of SG:Atlantis where they made a replicator girl that made all the other reps stick to her and they all became on huge blob and sucked the entire solar-system into a newly formed black hole.

 

[Quaxar]

It's believed that the universe existed as quark-gluon plasma until it cooled into what we're made of today. The LHC created it by smashing together lead ions at nearly the speed of light.

Bah, these scientists think in too small dimensions.

Someone get me two thermometers and a good baseball pitcher! I'm heading for world domination!

 

[V8 Ninja]

If we can somehow find a way to use this thing-a-majig as a resource for power, we can officially say that we're living in a new era.

 

[Dexiro]

Someone had better make a sugarcubed sized blob of this stuff and just drop it on the floor.

The results would be hilarious.

Yeah, like pull the moon slowly towards and smashing into the surface of the earth by its immense gravitational pull.

I was thinking more along the lines of, burns through to the centre of the earth and begins to slowly draw all of the earths matter into it's incredibly dense blob until nothing is left.

I imagine it'd be like the Earth being hit by an asteroid. Not sure if 40 billion tons is enough to suck us all into a blob but it might bump up gravity a little bit.

 

[Windexglow]

The lead scientist than quipped "Or, about half the density of your mum"

 

[teh_Canape]

I swear that I don't know what the hell does that mean, by reading the title makes me feel smart =P

 

[theheroofaction]

Alrighty, let me be the first to say this, so what?

I mean, does anybody gain anything from this hyperdense trash-compaction system?

 

[JUGGERNAUTBITCH]

Someone had better make a sugarcubed sized blob of this stuff and just drop it on the floor.

The results would be hilarious.

Yeah, like pull the moon slowly towards and smashing into the surface of the earth by its immense gravitational pull.

I was thinking more along the lines of, burns through to the center of the earth and begins to slowly draw all of the earths matter into it's incredibly dense blob until nothing is left.

Almost right. The best visual representation I can think of that would happen was that one episode of SG:Atlantis where they made a replicator girl that made all the other reps stick to her and they all became on huge blob and sucked the entire solar-system into a newly formed black hole.

Nope, like the news said. Vry dense but not denser than a black hole. And there is a big misconception about black holes. If the sun would change to a black hole with the same mass as the sun. Nothing would change. Ok not nothing, it would for instance get very very cold here on earth. BUT the earth would remain in a steady orbit.

 

[Zetona]

Someone had better make a sugarcubed sized blob of this stuff and just drop it on the floor.

The results would be hilarious.

Yeah, like pull the moon slowly towards and smashing into the surface of the earth by its immense gravitational pull.

I was thinking more along the lines of, burns through to the center of the earth and begins to slowly draw all of the earths matter into it's incredibly dense blob until nothing is left.

Almost right. The best visual representation I can think of that would happen was that one episode of SG:Atlantis where they made a replicator girl that made all the other reps stick to her and they all became on huge blob and sucked the entire solar-system into a newly formed black hole.

Given how hot the stuff is, interesting things would happen once it hit the water table. I heard that if a nuclear reactor were to overheat and melt through its casing, it would eventually reach water and instantly vaporize it. What would something 100,000 times hotter than the sun do?