Gold Fever: Physicists Turn Modern-day Alchemy into Reality
Transformed Lead into Gold: Actual Alchemy Achieved in Laboratory?
In a scientific breakthrough that would send Medieval alchemists into a frenzy, physicists at CERN have managed to transform lead into gold, albeit on a minuscule scale. Here's how the modern-day alchemy unfolds in the heart of Geneva.
The Gold Alchemist: CERN's Large Hadron Collider
Imagine the ancient search for the elusive Philosopher's Stone in a colossal particle accelerator the size of a small city. This is no myth, but a reality at CERN's Large Hadron Collider (LHC). The LHC's powerful magnetic fields are used to smash lead ions together, creating conditions similar to those right after the Big Bang.
The Dance of Nuclei: A Close Call
Instead of head-on collisions, lead nuclei often narrowly miss each other, resulting in intense electromagnetic interactions. These encounters cause the lead nuclei's internal structure to oscillate, ejecting a few protons in the process.
The Leap from Lead to Gold
To transform a lead nucleus into a gold nucleus, three protons must be removed. After the ejection, the lead atom is momentarily a gold atom nucleus before fragmenting into other particles.
The Fleeting Gold: A Mirage for the Alchemists
Sadly for the alchemists, the gold exists only for a negligible fraction of a second. The amount produced is also minuscule, way too small to be used for anything practical, like jewelry. In fact, the total amount of gold produced is trillions of times less than what is needed for a piece of jewelry.
The Legendary Dream Decoded
While the dream of medieval alchemists technically comes true, their hopes of finding wealth remain shattered. CERN reports the discovery in a scientific article in the journal "Physical Review Journals." The experiment, called "Alice," has been ongoing since 2015.
Sources: ntv.de, kst/dpa
- CERN
- Particle Accelerator
- Gold
Enrichment Data:
Although lead is temporarily transformed into gold in the CERN experiment, the amount produced is insignificant and exists for merely a fraction of a second. This process provides physicists with insights into nuclear reactions and the strong electromagnetic forces in extreme high-energy environments. The research also offers a better understanding of matter under conditions similar to those moments after the Big Bang. The transformation process at CERN is primarily a powerful demonstration of advanced nuclear physics rather than a practical method for creating gold on a useful, commercial scale.
In the heart of Geneva, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN, a particle accelerator the size of a small city, is recreating conditions similar to those right after the Big Bang, thus achieving what medieval alchemists had long dreamt of - transforming lead into gold. However, the gold produced in this scientific experiment, named "Alice," is only temporary and exists for a negligible fraction of a second, restraining any hopes of using it for commercial purposes like jewelry.
