Physicists detect a hybrid particle held together by uniquely intense ‘glue’

In the particle world, sometimes two is better than one. Take, for instance, electron pairs. When two electrons are bound together, they can glide through a material without friction, giving the material special superconducting properties. Such paired electrons, or Cooper pairs, are a kind of hybrid particle—a composite of two particles that behaves as one, with properties that are greater than the sum of its parts.