PHENIX Experiment

The PHENIX experiment, conducted at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) at Brookhaven National Laboratory, studies the fundamental building blocks of matter by smashing heavy ions like gold together at near-light speeds. These collisions create extremely hot and dense conditions similar to those just after the Big Bang, allowing scientists to explore how quarks and gluons—the particles inside protons and neutrons—behave under such extreme environments. PHENIX uses advanced detectors to analyze the particles produced, helping us understand the origins of mass, the behavior of nuclear matter, and the early moments of our universe.