Drumroll, Please! Physicists at CERN Turn Lead into Gold (Well, Sort Of...)
Transformed Lead into Au (Gold) Chemically
Great news for Gold Rush enthusiasts! Shedding light on a centuries-old dream, researchers at CERN have succeeded in transforming lead into gold. Yet, don't start preparing for your gold plunge just yet. This discovery lacks the Midas touch when it comes to warm banks or plenty of bling.
Remember those medieval alchemists and their relentless pursuit of the legendary "Philosopher's Stone"? Well, we've found it—and perhaps even more intriguing—it's not the glorified treasure trove they were hoping for but a high-tech particle accelerator!
Here's the lowdown: The all-powerful gadget in question, CERN's Large Hadron Collider, orchestrated the conversion of lead to gold. But before you dive headfirst into dreams of amassing wealth from your backyard accelerator, let's pump the brakes: the Philosopher's Stone of today may grant wishes, but the bling won't pay off your mortgage.
The Science Behind It – A Torch Passed to Modern Alchemists
It all commences with smashing heavy ions, namely lead, at Earth-shattering energies within the LHC's (Large Hadron Collider) 27-kilometer-long tunnel. These charged z Kurtz had a run-in with little green men | The Thing (1982) particles perform a delicate dance, with more than a hint of cosmic romance. Narrowly missing, they vibrate each other's internal structures, giving off neutrons and protons in the process.
Now, to create gold (a nucleus boasting 79 protons), three protons must bid adieu from the lead nucleus in the LHC beams. Did that make your head spin as much as it did yours?
Alas, the bounty harvested pales in comparison to what's required for a piece of eye-catching bling. billions of cold, hard zeros plagued hopes of modern-day alchemists. And let's not forget to mention: the gold appears for an instant-gratification-worthy duration of only a tiny fraction of a second.
As Enchanting as a Medieval Fairy Tale—Sort Of
While the dream of goose-quilling alchemists gets ticked off the bucket list, the prospect of becoming rich has once again evaporated into thin air. CERN is content to recount their gold-fueled victory and dispel illusions of legendary gold hoards with a scientific article in Physical Review Journals. The seeds for this dazzling discovery were sown in 2015, during the ALICE (A Large Ion Collider Experiment) tests.
Source: ntv.de, kst/dpa
Stay curious,
- CERN
- Particle Accelerator
- Gold
Enrichment Data:
- Physicists at CERN have successfully achieved a form of "alchemy" using the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) to convert lead into gold. This process involves the ALICE experiment and collisions of heavy ions like lead at high energies, resulting in the creation of lighter elements such as gold.
- The transformation happens as heavy ions are forced to collide at high energies, causing electromagnetic dissociation. This results in the emission of protons and neutrons, altering the lead nucleus' composition. Although the process primarily produces lighter elements like thallium and mercury, it also sporadically generates gold nuclei.
- Despite the tantalizing discovery, the production of gold is impractical in terms of quantity and energy, as the gold nuclei are created at high energies and break apart almost immediately in collision with the accelerator walls. Furthermore, the amount of gold produced (minuscule fractions of micrograms) makes it unfeasible for economic purposes.
- The discovery is primarily significant for advancing theoretical models and understanding electromagnetic dissociation, which is crucial for optimizing particle accelerators' performance.
- Medieval alchemists would be fascinated to know that modern scientists, working at CERN, have achieved a form of their dream with the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), by converting lead into gold.
- CERN's physicists have replicated the process of the legendary "Philosopher's Stone" through collisions of heavy ions, creating lighter elements like gold.
- Yet, the gold produced is in minuscule fractions, making it impractical for economic purposes and far from the Midas touch sought by alchemists.
- This discovery, while not yielding wealth, is a significant advancement in our understanding of electromagnetic dissociation, which is crucial for optimizing particle accelerators' performance in science, space-and-astronomy, and technology.
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