Quick Shot

The Center for Matter at Atomic Pressures produced a video showing how matter in the universe exists outside of the surface of the earth. Inside planets and stars, the crushing force of gravity begins to overwhelm the electromagnetic and nuclear forces that keep atoms apart and maintain the shapes of molecules. What happens next? Scientists (including a consortia of researchers at the National Science Foundation Center for Matter at Atomic Pressures​​) are just starting to figure that out. They use a variety of tools (including some humongous lasers, like OMEGA at the University of Rochester’s Laboratory for Laser Energetics) to simulate planetary cores and see what happens.