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Alchemists dream of turning lead into gold for millennia, and this idea was performed, at least for a short moment, in one of today’s most ambitious scientific experiments. Researchers at CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) were able to transmute gold lead atoms during high energy collisions in the large Hadrons collier (LHC), the largest particle accelerator in the world, located on the Swiss and France border.
The feat was recorded by the Alice experiment, one of the detectors of LHC dedicated to the study of collisions between heavy ions. When lead beams are accelerated at speeds close to light and collide, intense electromagnetic fields generated in these interactions may remove protons from atomic nuclei.
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Since gold has three protons less than lead, this “loss” temporarily results in the creation of gold atoms.
The largest particle accelerator in the world, located on the border between Switzerland and France (Source: CERN)
The experiment
According to the scientists involved, between 2015 and 2018, about 86 billion gold nuclei were produced during these collisions – a tiny amount, equivalent to approximately 29 trilliones of grass. In addition, these atoms are extremely unstable, lasting about a microsecond before they disintegrate or collide with their own laboratory equipment.
“This is the first time we have systematically detected and analyzed gold production in LHC,” said Uliana Dmitieva, the physics of the collaboration Alice.
She pointed out that, despite the practical insignificance of the quantity produced, the experiment provides valuable data for understanding interactions between photons (light particles) and atomic nuclei.
The transmutation of elements is not unprecedented in nuclear physics. The phenomenon had already been observed between 2002 and 2004, at lower energy levels on the SPS accelerator, also operated by CERN. However, the use of LHC brought unprecedented accuracy to the observation and analysis of these processes.
Despite their symbolic and historical character, scientists make it clear that there is no intention of transforming gold production into something economically viable. The energy and technological cost of the process makes any practical application unfeasible. Still, the feat represents a remarkable advance in the field of particle physics and understanding the structure of matter.
