Strangelet is the term given to a hypothetical microscopic lump of 'strange matter' containing almost equal numbers of particles called up, down and strange quarks. According to most theoretical work, strangelets should change to ordinary matter within a thousand-millionth of the second. But could srangelet coalesce with ordinary matter and change it to strange matter? This question was first raised before the start up of the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider, RHIC, In 2000 in the United States. A study at the time showed that there was no cause for concern, and RHIC has now run for eight years, searching for strangelets without detecting any. At times, the LHC's beams of heavy nuclei, just as RHIC does. The LHC's beams will have more energy than RHIC, but this makes it even less likely that strangelets could form. It is difficult for strange matter to stick together in the high temperatures produced by such colliders, rather as ice does not form in hot water. In addition , quarks will be moere dilute at the LHC at RHIC, making it more difficult to assemble strange matter. Strangelets production a the LHC is therefore less likely than at RHIC, and experiences there has already validated the arguments that strangelets cannot be produced.
