Scientists have long been on the lookout for 'glueballs', which are bound states of subatomic gluon particles on their own, without any quar
Scientists have long been on the lookout for 'glueballs', which are bound states of subatomic gluon particles on their own, without any quarks involved. Now, we may just have found them, hiding away in a particle accelerator experiment. It promises to be a hugely significant breakthrough in physics, but for the benefit of everyone without a PhD in the subject, we'll start at the beginning. The main job of gluons is to hold quarks in place and keep atoms stable – quarks being the building blocks that make up protons and neutrons. This role makes the gluon part of the strong nuclear force – one of the four fundamental forces of nature that hold the laws of physics together, along with gravity, electromagnetism, and the weak nuclear force.
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