Scientists Transform Lead into Gold in High-Speed Experiment
Geneva — May 15, 2024 — Scientists at CERN have achieved a remarkable feat: transforming lead into gold. Using the large Hadron Collider (LHC),researchers collided lead atoms at near-light speed,triggering a process where the intense energy caused the lead nuclei to eject protons.This ground‑breaking research, published in *Physical Review*, offers a glimpse into the potential of high-energy physics. For more details, continue reading.
Scientists Transform Led into Gold in High-Speed Collision Experiment
In a groundbreaking experiment, scientists at the European association for Nuclear Research (CERN) have seemingly achieved the alchemist’s dream: transforming lead into gold.This feat was accomplished by colliding beams of lead atoms at near-light speed within the Large Hadron Collider (LHC).
The process hinges on the immense energy generated during these collisions. Often, [a altíssima velocidade com que os núcleos de chumbo viajam no acelerador] it triggers a process called electromagnetic dissociation, by which a photon interacting with a core can excite oscillations of its internal structure, resulting in the ejection of small neutron numbers and protons.
This electromagnetic dissociation is key to the change.
The Science Behind the Transformation
Within the LHC, two high-energy particle beams travel at velocities approaching the speed of light before colliding. These beams move in opposite directions within two ultra-high vacuum tubes. Electromagnets, cooled to -271.3°C, guide the beams around the LHC’s ring. CERN explains that this is a more cold temperature than that of outer space.
A liquid helium distribution system maintains these extremely low temperatures for the magnets and other essential components.
The detector’s zero-degree calorimeters (ZDC) allow the team to count photon-core interactions during the collisions. The experiment focused on interactions resulting in the emission of zero, one, two, and three protons, which are associated with the production of lead, thallium, mercury, and gold, respectively.
How Lead Becomes gold
by colliding lead atom beams at near-light speed,researchers induced lead atoms to interact in a unique way. The resulting intense electromagnetic field generates a pulse of energy that can cause the nucleus of the atom to expel protons. The number of protons in an atom’s nucleus determines the element.
to create gold, which has 79 protons, three protons must be removed from a lead nucleus, which has 82 protons.
To create gold (a nucleus containing 79 protons), three protons must be removed from a lead core in the LHC beams
Explanation of the process described in the official portal of CERN
The Experiment and Its Implications
the team responsible for the LHC announced the results of this experiment in a study published in the journal *Physical Review*. The experiment took place at CERN, Europe’s leading laboratory for particle physics, located in Geneva, Switzerland.
