The quest for the quark-gluon plasma

High-energy collisions between heavy nuclei have in the past 20 years provided multiple indications of a deconfined phase of matter that exists at phenomenally high temperatures and pressures. This 'quark-gluon plasma' is thought to have permeated the first microseconds of the Universe. Experiments at the Large Hadron Collider should consolidate the evidence for this exotic medium's existence, and allow its properties to be characterized.