Quark Stars
QUARKS HAVE NO FREEDOM.  THEY'RE WHOLE LIVES THEY'RE FORCED TO BIND UP WITH A
TWIN OR PERHAPS TRIPLETS TO CREATE SOME OTHER KIND OF PARTICLE.  BUT IT WASN'T
ALWAYS THAT WAY--RIGHT AFTER THE BIG BANG, SCIENTIST THINK THAT WITH ALL THE HEAT
AND PRESSURE QUARKS MIGHT HAVE BEEN FANCY FREE, ZIPPING AROUND ALONE
WITHOUT HAVING TO STICK BY THEIR FRIENDS.  IN OUR UNIVERSE TODAY, THOUGH, WE
NEVER SEE SUCH A THING, EXCEPT, MAYBE, JUST MAYBE, IN THE VERY CENTER OF DYING
STARS, SAYS NORMAN GLENDENNING AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY. 

Glendenning:  "At the end of their lives. . .the central part of the star collapses undert the
attraction of gravity and forms a very dense star, much denser than any material that we
know of here on earth."

THIS COULD BE LIKE THE PROMISED LAND FOR QUARKS, A PLACE THAT'S SO HOT AND
DENSE THAT QUARKS COULD BE FREE, JUST LIKE THEY WERE IN THE EARLY UNIVERSE.  IF SO,
GLENDENNING HAS COME UP WITH A WAY TO TELL THESE STARS FORM OTHERS.  QUARKS
BY THEMSELVES ARE MUCH MORE SQUISHABLE THAN YOUR AVERAGE NEUTRON OR
PROTON.

Glendenning: "Much more compressable, so when the center of a star begins to convert
to quark matter it shrinks." 

JUST AS SKATERS SPIN FASTER WHEN THEY PULL IN THEIR ARMS, A SHRINKING QUARK STAR
WOULD SPEED UP. 

Glendenning: "The quark matter is a phase of matter that we feel as scientist is almost
surely exists, however as scientists we also need to have proof."

 IF GLENDENNING CAN CATCH A DYING STAR IN THE ACT OF SPEEDING UP, HE'LL HAVE
SOME OF THE PROOF HE NEEDS.  AND THE REST OF US WILL KNOW THAT SOMEWHERE IN
THE UNIVERSE SOME QUARKS ARE LIVING IN FREEDOM.