Scientists smash atoms together to create ‘little’ big bangs

It’s difficult to imagine anything of consequence occurring within a millionth of a second, but one of the most pivotal moments in cosmic history occurred in that miniscule time.. Physicists believe the earliest form of matter in the universe—known as quark-gluon plasma—arrived in this brief blip in time following the big bang about 13.8 billion years ago. This incredibly dense, hot state of matter existed at a moment when the nascent universe was so hot that it prevented the f