CERN scientists turn lead into gold (briefly)

CERN researchers briefly produce gold when lead nuclei collide Keystone-SDA

Physicists at the CERN nuclear research centre in Geneva have turned lead into gold. During the collision of lead nuclei at almost the speed of light, the conversion of lead into gold was measured using a new mechanism, the organisation said.

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However, CERN made it clear right away that a fabulous gold treasure will not be created. High-energy collisions of lead nuclei can produce plasma, which is thought to have filled the universe in the millionth of a second after the Big Bang, it explained. This is likely to have given rise to the matter we know today.

But when the lead nuclei are chased into the 27-kilometre tunnel of the LHC particle accelerator on a collision course, it is much more common for the lead nuclei to fly past each other by a hair’s breadth. The intense magnetic field of the nuclei can cause their internal structure to vibrate and a small number of neutrons and protons are ejected.

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“To produce gold (a nucleus with 79 protons), three protons must be removed from a lead nucleus in the LHC beams,” CERN said. However, the total amount was still trillions of times less than would be required to produce a piece of jewellery, it said, dampening any hopes of alchemists. “The gold only exists for a tiny fraction of a second.”

“The medieval alchemists’ dream may have technically come true, but their hopes of riches have once again been dashed,” CERN said.

The organisation describes its discovery in a specialist article in the Physical Review Journals. This work has been realised since 2015 in the “Alice” experiment.

Translated from German by DeepL/ts

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