Chapter 17, Problem 41EAP

Re-creating the Big Bang. Particle accelerators on Earth can push particles to extremely high speeds. When these particles collide, the amount of energy associated with the colliding particles is much greater than the mass-energy the particles have when at rest. As a result, these collisions can produce many other particles out of pure energy. Explain in your own words how the conditions that occur in particle accelerators are similar to the conditions that prevailed shortly after the Big Bang. Also, point out some of the differences between what happens in particle accelerators and what happened in the early universe.