Big Bang ''in vitro''

This digest paper describes the heavy-ion reaction experiment carried out in November and December 1995 at the CERN (Geneva, Switzerland) and which led to the production of a possible quark-gluon plasma comparable to the primordial state of our Universe, during its first micro-seconds of existence. Few details are given about future similar experiments with the LHC (Large Hadron Collider) of the CERN and with the RHIC (Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider) of Long Island (USA). (J.S.)