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Mk
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What is Quark-Gluon Plasma? Is it mearly a concieved, observed, theorized, or even created in a lab? What are/could be its uses?
Thanks!
Thanks!
chroot said:mattcom,
Please be careful with your answers. Quite a bit of your post is specious. Non-mainstream theories are not welcome anywhere on physicsforums.com except in the Theory Development subforum.
- Warren
2. core of neutron (very dense) stars,
elas said:When 'Science Line' (run by volunteers from Cambridge Uni.) was up and running, I had a half-hour conversation about quarks with a graduate fresh back from six month at CERN. The essence of which is that what we are told about quarks is basically a model designed to fit the indirect observations of experimental work.
This 'intelligent guess work' method of model building, has worked well to date in that it has produced the excelent quantum (predictive) theories; but they cannot be linked directly to the experimental work (only indirectly) and therefore remain open to question.
elas said:The person concerned was aware of my agenda, other than that you are not saying anything different to what I have said, but you are saying it differently. I have never questioned the accuracy of QT or the existence of quarks; my 'agenda' is filling in the gaps as defined by the leading experts quoted on my webpage. Constructive criticism is not only welcomed it is desired. Please do not read into my submissions something that is not there.
The essence of which is that what we are told about quarks is basically a model designed to fit the indirect observations of experimental work. This 'intelligent guess work' method of model building, has worked well to date in that it has produced the excelent quantum (predictive) theories; but they cannot be linked directly to the experimental work (only indirectly) and therefore remain open to question.
elas said:you explicitly conveyed the idea that "quarks" are some wishy-washy ideas that have no valid experimental verification!
The concept of quarks was conceived before the particle experiments concerning their existence, were conducted; the idea was not wishy-washy but a sound attempt to explain an observerved group of measurements. The quark concept was then used to make predictions that were later found by experiment to be correct. That is to say the a new group of measurements matched those predicted by quark theory. The following two quotes sum up the method and the gaps
“Quantum physics is about ‘measurement and statistical prediction’. It does not describe the underlying structure that is the cause of quantum theory”.
"Quantum Physics, Illusion or reality” Alastair I.M. RAE of the Department of Physics at the University of Birmingham
*
"They (physicists) feel a complete explanation of the subatomic world will not have been attained until it is known why particles have the charge, masses and other particular properties they are observed to possess”.
Richard Morris in "Achilles in the Quantum Universe”
The first statement applies to all the entities of Quantum Theory, hence the validity of the second statement. There are many similar statements by other leading physicists.
We know that 'natural accelerators' can produce high energy particles, with energies far beyond the wildest dreams of CERN folk ... so we can confidently add a fourth 'possibil[y] for its [the QG plasma] existence': UHE cosmic ray collisions, throughout the universe.Gonzolo said:If you strip an atom of its electrons, you are left with the nucleus, made of protons and neutrons. Protons and neutrons are each made from 3 quarks, held together by gluons. If you could manage to crush nuclei together, so that their structure is destroyed, you would be left with a soup of quarks ans gluons, or a quark-gluon plasma. Only three possibilies for its existence :
1. very early universe,
2. core of neutron (very dense) stars,
3. in a particle accelerator (lab), where you would smash nuclei together sufficiently hard that they their constituents would very briefly have no structure.
The question is more "Can we make it?" than what are its uses. I don't think that there's any hard evidence that we have created any yet, but I believe 4 labs might have the capability. To create it would confirm theories that it's a possible state of matter. A service from particle physicists to cosmologists and astrophysicists.
ZapperZ said:you might already be doubting your own existence, so this may not mean anything.
Quark-gluon plasma is a state of matter that exists at extremely high temperatures and densities, where the individual particles that make up protons and neutrons (known as quarks and gluons) are no longer confined to them. Instead, they behave as a collective fluid-like system.
Quark-gluon plasma can be created in particle accelerators, such as the Large Hadron Collider, by colliding heavy ions at very high energies. This causes the ions to break apart and form a quark-gluon plasma state. It is also believed that quark-gluon plasma existed in the early universe, shortly after the Big Bang.
Quark-gluon plasma is an important area of study in nuclear and particle physics, as it allows scientists to better understand the fundamental properties of matter and the strong force that holds it together. It also has potential applications in creating new materials and technologies, such as more efficient energy production and high-speed computing.
Quark-gluon plasma is different from other states of matter, such as solids, liquids, and gases, because it is a state of matter that exists at extremely high temperatures and densities. In this state, the individual particles that make up protons and neutrons are no longer confined, and instead, behave as a collective fluid-like system.
Scientists are continually conducting experiments and simulations to further study quark-gluon plasma and its properties. Some current research efforts include investigating the properties of quark-gluon plasma at different energies, studying its collective behavior, and understanding its role in the evolution of the early universe.