Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider Completes Its Final Collisions
The Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) at Brookhaven National Laboratory has conducted its final particle collisions, bringing to a close a remarkable chapter in nuclear and particle physics. For over 20 years, RHIC has been at the forefront of studying what happens when heavy atomic nuclei are smashed together at nearly the speed of light, recreating conditions that existed microseconds after the Big Bang.
Among RHIC's most celebrated achievements was the discovery that quark-gluon plasma — the primordial soup of fundamental particles that existed in the early universe — behaves as a nearly perfect liquid rather than a gas, as had been expected. This finding reshaped physicists' understanding of the strong nuclear force and the behavior of matter under extreme conditions.
The facility's closure marks a transition as the physics community shifts resources to next-generation experiments, including the Electron-Ion Collider (EIC) being built at the same Brookhaven site. RHIC's legacy of discoveries will continue to influence nuclear and particle physics research for years to come.
Among RHIC's most celebrated achievements was the discovery that quark-gluon plasma — the primordial soup of fundamental particles that existed in the early universe — behaves as a nearly perfect liquid rather than a gas, as had been expected. This finding reshaped physicists' understanding of the strong nuclear force and the behavior of matter under extreme conditions.
The facility's closure marks a transition as the physics community shifts resources to next-generation experiments, including the Electron-Ion Collider (EIC) being built at the same Brookhaven site. RHIC's legacy of discoveries will continue to influence nuclear and particle physics research for years to come.