RHIC
Science & Engineering abbreviation · Physics
| Stands for | Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider |
|---|---|
| Categories | Science & Engineering |
RHIC stands for Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider, a physics abbreviation.
Particle collider at Brookhaven National Laboratory on Long Island, New York, operating since 2000, that smashes gold nuclei and polarized protons. RHIC created quark-gluon plasma, the state of matter that filled the universe microseconds after the Big Bang, and found it behaves like a nearly perfect liquid.
Example: Collisions at RHIC briefly reached temperatures of about 4 trillion degrees Celsius.
Usage notes
Pronounced "rick." Its "perfect liquid" result, announced in 2005, surprised physicists who had expected a gas-like plasma. RHIC's tunnel and infrastructure are to be reused for the planned Electron-Ion Collider (EIC), which will probe the inner structure of protons and nuclei.
Related abbreviations
More physics abbreviations
- QCD – Quantum chromodynamics
- QED – Quantum electrodynamics
- QFT – Quantum field theory
- QM – Quantum mechanics
- radar – Radio detection and ranging
- RF – Radio frequency
- SEM – Scanning electron microscope
- SHM – Simple harmonic motion
- SLAC – SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
- SM – Standard Model
- sonar – Sound navigation and ranging
- SQUID – Superconducting quantum interference device