CERN Transforms Lead into Gold Through Physics Process, Not Supernatural Powers
Deep beneath the Franco-Swiss border, CERN's 27-kilometer underground ring serves as a modern-day iteration of the elusive Philosopher's Stone. The legendary alchemical substance was rumored to have the power to transform ordinary metals into gold. The Large Hadron Collider (LHC), however, does more than that—it converts lead ions into gold through a unique nuclear process.
The transmutation wasn't through the casting of spells or the concocting of magic elixirs; rather, it was by accelerating lead ions at high speeds near the speed of light, and nearly missing each other in a process known as ultraperipheral collisions. Under the right conditions, these near misses set off a chain reaction of electromagnetic forces, which in turn led to the emission of photons with sufficient energy to eject protons from the lead nuclei. This process, called electromagnetic dissociation, allowed a lead-208 nucleus to shed three protons, thereby transforming into a gold nucleus.
A chemical element is defined by the number of protons in its nucleus. For instance, hydrogen has one proton, while carbon has six. Gold has 79. The removal of protons from a lead atom results in a new element, in this case, gold. This isn't chemistry; it's nuclear physics.
During Run 2 of the LHC, these near-miss collisions between lead nuclei were creating approximately 89,000 gold atoms every second. This may sound impressive, but a single gram of gold contains around 3,057 billion atoms, making this method infeasible for gold production. Moreover, the atoms formed were short-lived and violently destroyed soon after creation.
However, this achievement provides valuable insights into understanding matter behavior in extreme conditions. These collisions and near-collisions serve as tests for the models we use to comprehend the universe, and they help engineers design more efficient technology for particle accelerators, reducing costly shutdowns. The experiment also produced thallium and mercury in much greater quantities than gold.
The precise measurement of this process marks a significant milestone in experimental physics. In a large-scale experiment, the ALICE detector was able to capture the moments of transmutation by focusing on the aftermath of these glancing blows. By counting the small number of protons and neutrons ejected from the nuclei, the ALchemical Large Ion Collider Experiment (ALICE) team successfully observed and quantified the creation of gold nuclei.
This modern-day alchemy isn't likely to serve as a source of currency; however, the knowledge gained from this process provides a deeper understanding of nuclear forces and the behavior of matter under extreme conditions. The ability to observe such intricate processes buried amid trillions of high-energy events is a triumph of experimental physics, even if alchemists of olden times might have viewed it differently.
- The process of converting lead ions into gold at CERN's Large Hadron Collider is a testament to the advanced state of science and technology, especially in the fields of physics and research.
- Instead of elixirs or spells, the transmutation of lead into gold at CERN is achieved through scientific methods, such as ultraperipheral collisions, electromagnetic dissociation, and the precise measurement of the process using detectors like ALICE.
- The creation of gold atoms through the LHC's experiments provides valuable insights into the behavior of matter under extreme conditions, aiding in the development of more efficient technology for particle accelerators.
- Despite the impressive feats of modern science, the production of gold using this method is impractical for industrial purposes due to the instability and short lifespan of the atoms formed, and the minuscule quantity of gold produced compared to the number of atoms in a gram.
