CERN scientists turn lead into gold, here’s how
image : CERN In a remarkable scientific achievement, researchers at CERN have accomplished what alchemists only dreamed of: transmuting lead into gold. This feat was realised during high-speed, near-miss collisions of lead ions within the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), as part of the ALICE (A Large Ion Collider Experiment) collaboration. The findings were detailed in a study published in Physical Review C on May 7, 2025.The process involved accelerating lead nuclei to velocities approaching the speed of light. When these nuclei pass close to each other without direct collision, their intense electromagnetic fields interact, leading to a phenomenon known as electromagnetic dissociation. In rare instances, this interaction causes a lead nucleus to emit three protons, temporarily transforming it into a gold nucleus—specifically, the isotope gold-197.Between 2015 and 2018, approximately 86 billion gold nuclei were produced through this method. However, these gold atoms were highly unstable, existing for only about a microsecond before disintegrating upon collision with the beam pipe. Despite the fleeting existence and minuscule quantity—about 29 trillionths of a gram—the experiment provided valuable insights into nuclear physics and the behaviour of atomic particles under extreme conditions. This achievement not only fulfils a long-standing alchemical aspiration but also enhances our understanding of atomic interactions, contributing to the broader field of particle physics.
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| image : CERN |
In a remarkable scientific achievement, researchers at CERN have accomplished what alchemists only dreamed of: transmuting lead into gold. This feat was realised during high-speed, near-miss collisions of lead ions within the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), as part of the ALICE (A Large Ion Collider Experiment) collaboration. The findings were detailed in a study published in Physical Review C on May 7, 2025.
The process involved accelerating lead nuclei to velocities approaching the speed of light. When these nuclei pass close to each other without direct collision, their intense electromagnetic fields interact, leading to a phenomenon known as electromagnetic dissociation. In rare instances, this interaction causes a lead nucleus to emit three protons, temporarily transforming it into a gold nucleus—specifically, the isotope gold-197.
Between 2015 and 2018, approximately 86 billion gold nuclei were produced through this method. However, these gold atoms were highly unstable, existing for only about a microsecond before disintegrating upon collision with the beam pipe. Despite the fleeting existence and minuscule quantity—about 29 trillionths of a gram—the experiment provided valuable insights into nuclear physics and the behaviour of atomic particles under extreme conditions. This achievement not only fulfils a long-standing alchemical aspiration but also enhances our understanding of atomic interactions, contributing to the broader field of particle physics.
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