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might study the inner workings of atoms and nuclei, the size and age of the universe, the behavior of high-temperature superconductors, or the life cycles of stars, from their formation out of interstellar gases to their end-states as pulsars or black holes. Physicists use high-energy accelerators to search for quarks; they design new laser systems for applications in medicine and communications; they heat hydrogen gases to temperatures above those at the sun’s core in the attempt to develop nuclear