nuclear fusion

Here’s a rewritten version of teh article, focusing on unique phrasing while preserving all verifiable facts and presenting a breaking-news lead:

fusion Breakthrough Promises Gold Production, But Scientists Urge Caution

A groundbreaking proposal suggests that nuclear fusion reactors could become a source of gold, potentially revolutionizing the energy sector. However, experts warn that the concept, while intriguing, faces significant technical hurdles and is currently based on simulations.

Adrian Bevan, a Physics professor at Queen Mary University of London, commented on the enterprising claim, stating, “At that rate, the life of the universe woudl be needed hundreds of times to produce a single Troy of gold.” his remarks were published in The Conversation, addressing a company’s assertion that it could transmute mercury into gold using nuclear fusion.

The proposed method, outlined by Marathon fusion, leverages the high-energy neutrons produced during fusion. the plan involves transforming Mercury-198 into Mercury-197,which then decays into Gold-197,the only stable isotope of the precious metal.According to the company, a fusion plant utilizing this technique could yield up to 5,000 kilograms of gold annually for every gigawatt of electricity it generates, without impacting its energy output.

This innovative approach has been submitted to arXiv for peer review, meaning its practical feasibility remains uncertain. A key requirement for this process is the generation of neutrons with energies exceeding six million electronvolts, a feat that is challenging to sustain continuously. “If this works, it is an interesting idea,” bevan acknowledged.A significant challenge is that the hypothesis relies on digital simulations, as commercial-scale fusion reactors do not yet exist. “There are many challenges to overcome before scientists can make a commercial fusion reactor come true,” Bevan noted, highlighting the current lack of operational fusion power plants.Furthermore,the process of creating gold within a fusion reactor means the resulting gold would initially be radioactive. Bevan explained, “That is to say, manufactured gold would initially radioactive, which means that it would be classified as a radioactive residue and, therefore, it would have to manage for long after its production.” The physicist estimates that processing this radioactive waste into usable forms of pure gold would present a new, albeit potentially surmountable, challenge for investors.

Should this method prove successful, it could accelerate the global advancement of fusion plants and fundamentally alter the economics of fusion energy. The dual revenue streams from gold production and electricity generation could considerably enhance the profitability of these facilities.

However, for the present, Bevan concluded, “It is still an attractive proposal on paper, but we are still far from starting a new kind of gold fever.”

Reference:
Adam Rutkowski, Jake Harter, and Jason Parisi. Scalable Chrysopoeia via Reactions Driven by Deuterium-tritium Fusion Neutrons. Study available on the arXiv Preprimpression platform, in the process of revision by pairs, 2025.