Protons are an important part of the makeup of all atoms.
They have a positive charge, and this means that they can interact with electrons which also carry a negative charge.
Because protons are positively charged, they will repel each other if their paths cross.
However, when two protons collide at high speeds, the energy released when they combine together is so great that it causes them to move closer together rather than farther apart.
This is because of the first law of thermodynamics, which says that energy cannot be created or destroyed.
Rather it changes from one form to another, depending on what process we are taking about.
In this case, a lot of high-energy light particles called photons can also be released when two protons collide together at high speeds.
This happens often in particle accelerators such as CERN’s Large Hadron Collider (LHC).
The collisions occur so quickly and with trillions upon trillions of volts worth of power behind them.
These short-lived new particles tell physicists a great deal about.
