CERN researchers briefly produce gold when lead nuclei collide
Keystone-SDA
Select your language
Generated with artificial intelligence.
Listening: CERN scientists turn lead into gold (briefly)
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.
This content was published on
2 minutes
Keystone-SDA
Deutsch
de
Cern-Forscher erzeugen bei Kollision von Bleikernen kurzzeitig Gold
Original
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.
“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
How we work
We select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate them into English. A journalist then reviews the translation for clarity and accuracy before publication. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles. The news stories we select have been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team from news agencies such as Bloomberg or Keystone.
Did you find this explanation helpful? Please fill out the short survey below to help us understand your needs.
External Content
Don’t miss your chance to make a difference! Take our survey and share your thoughts.
Popular Stories
More
Aging society
No house generation: the impossibility of buying property in Switzerland
Survey: most Swiss ready to steer clear of US products due to tariffs
This content was published on
A majority of Swiss and European consumers say they are prepared to opt out of buying American products like Coca-Cola and Nike in protest at US tariffs, a study shows.
This content was published on
The World Health Organization (WHO) boss, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, says the Geneva-based UN agency has revised down its budget to $4.2 billion (CHF3.5 billion) for 2026-2027.
Swiss police break up major Chinese trafficking ring
This content was published on
Bern cantonal police have smashed a major human trafficking ring. Five people are accused of luring over 100 Chinese women to Switzerland to exploit them as sex workers.
‘Imminent’ landslide threat: authorities order full evacuation of Swiss mountain village
This content was published on
The local authorities have ordered the complete evacuation of the village of Blatten and its 300 residents due to "imminent" dangers.
Swiss health survey: 52% of men are overweight, 34% of women
This content was published on
The results of the Swiss Health Survey 2022 reveal clear differences between men and women: 55% of women and 44% of men live with at least one chronic illness.
This content was published on
Switzerland plans to give an additional $80 million (CHF67 million) for the 2025-2028 period to the World Health Organization (WHO), which is facing financial difficulties.
Over half a million people attended Eurovision shows or events in Basel
This content was published on
Over 500,000 people attended Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) shows or related events in Basel last week, the organisers said on Monday, celebrating its "great success".
Appenzell village is named ‘lightning capital’ of Switzerland
This content was published on
Gonten in canton Appenzell Inner Rhodes recorded the highest number of lightning strikes per square kilometre in Switzerland last year.
Swiss centre records almost 300 victims of human trafficking
This content was published on
Last year, 208 victims contacted the specialist unit FIZ Advocacy and Support for Migrant Women and Victims of Trafficking. For 59 others, an examination is still underway.
Swiss mountain village threatened by serious landslide risk
This content was published on
The situation in the mountain village of Blatten, canton Valais, remains serious due to the threat of a landslide, Swiss officials said on Sunday afternoon.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.