Article
Article
DISCLAIMER: This article is being kept online for historical purposes. Though accurate at last review, it is no longer being updated. The page may contain broken links or outdated information.
Quark-gluon matter
Article By:
Wilczek, Frank Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Nobelist.
Last reviewed:2002
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.YB021195
According to the established theory of the strong interaction, quantum chromodynamics (QCD), quarks and gluons are the fundamental building blocks from which atomic nuclei are assembled. The quark-gluon deep structure of nuclear matter is well concealed, however. Quarks and gluons are tightly packaged into protons and neutrons, which form the more conspicuous units. But theory predicts that under extreme conditions of high temperature or high density the physical nature of this matter changes drastically: Protons and neutrons dissolve. Quarks and gluons then become the obvious as well as the fundamental units of description. Physicists therefore speak of “quark-gluon matter.”
The content above is only an excerpt.
About AccessScience
AccessScience provides the most accurate and trustworthy scientific information available.
Recognized as an award-winning gateway to scientific knowledge, AccessScience is an amazing online resource that contains high-quality reference material written specifically for students. Contributors include more than 10,000 highly qualified scientists and 46 Nobel Prize winners.
MORE THAN 8700 articles covering all major scientific disciplines and encompassing the McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science & Technology and McGraw-Hill Yearbook of Science & Technology
115,000-PLUS definitions from the McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms
3000 biographies of notable scientific figures
MORE THAN 19,000 downloadable images and animations illustrating key topics
ENGAGING VIDEOS highlighting the life and work of award-winning scientists
SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY and additional readings to guide students to deeper understanding and research
LINKS TO CITABLE LITERATURE help students expand their knowledge using primary sources of information
