Quark–gluon plasma

Quark-gluon plasma (or QGP) is a superhot soup of particles that scientists think might have existed just after the Big Bang, when the universe was first created. It is made up of lots and lots of tiny particles called "quarks" and "gluons". Quarks are the smallest known particles and they cannot exist on their own - they always come in groups of three, like peas in a pod. Gluons are particles that glue quarks together. When lots of quarks and gluons are stirred together in a super-hot soup it makes something called a quark-gluon plasma.