Modern Alchemy: Physicists at CERN Accidentally Turn Lead into Gold
Source: thetimes.com
In an extraordinary scientific twist, physicists at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in Switzerland have unintentionally achieved what medieval alchemists could only dream of—transforming lead into gold. While historic attempts at alchemy were rooted in mysticism, modern physics has revealed that the key difference between lead and gold lies in their atomic structure. Lead atoms have 82 protons, while gold has 79. Theoretically, removing three protons from a lead nucleus would produce gold.
Physicists working on the ALICE (A Large Ion Collider Experiment) project at CERN made this transformation a reality—not through sorcery but by colliding lead nuclei at speeds close to the speed of light. These high-energy crashes mimic conditions just moments after the Big Bang and, in doing so, occasionally knock off protons from the nuclei. Though the total amount of gold created is infinitesimally small—about 29 trillionths of a gram—the scientific implications are significant.
The Science Behind the Transformation
Protons are tightly held within atomic nuclei by the strong nuclear force, which makes extracting them extremely difficult. To overcome this, ALICE scientists used ultra-powerful electric fields generated during near-miss collisions of lead nuclei. When two lead atoms narrowly avoid a direct hit, the intense electromagnetic force between them can cause one to vibrate violently and eject protons.
This process, though rare, becomes statistically significant at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) due to the sheer number of collisions. The scientists estimate that around 89,000 gold nuclei are formed every second during these high-energy runs. Interestingly, they also observed the creation of neighboring elements such as thallium (with one proton fewer than lead) and mercury (with two fewer), further validating the mechanism behind the transformation.
Because direct observation of the new gold atoms isn’t possible, researchers rely on zero-degree calorimeters—specialized detectors that track the number of protons lost from the lead nuclei. By analyzing these losses, they can infer when and how often gold and other elements are formed.
More Nuisance Than Treasure
Despite its poetic appeal, this accidental alchemy is more of a technical challenge than a gold mine. Once a lead nucleus sheds protons and transforms into a different element, it loses the precise trajectory required to stay within the collider’s vacuum beam. As a result, these altered atoms crash into the walls of the collider within microseconds, diminishing the beam’s intensity and interfering with experiments.
Far from being a scientific jackpot, the formation of gold at CERN is a byproduct that scientists must account for to maintain accuracy in their primary research goals. Still, this phenomenon provides invaluable insights into nuclear physics and aids in refining the design of future particle physics experiments.
In the grand quest to understand the universe, even accidental alchemy helps scientists inch closer to uncovering its most profound secrets—just don’t expect the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) to become a gold factory anytime soon.
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