Dissipation, hydrodynamics and the fireball

We investigate the hydrodynamics of the QCD plasma using dimensionless numbers built from the thermodynamics and transport theory of the plasma and characteristic dimensions of the fireball produced in heavy-ion collisions. We find that by the usual measures, dissipation is strong, and the fireball is on the borderline of equilibrium. As a result, the system is richer in phenomena than ideal hydrodynamics would predict. One general implication is that it may be possible to get a direct view of the QCD plasma phase rather than having to infer its existence indirectly from signals that come from the freezeout isotherm after the fireball has cooled into the hadronic phase.