CERN realizes the alchemists’ dream: transformed Lead into
The dream of medieval and Renaissance alchemists has come true. Physicists at CERN's Large Hadron Collider (LHC) have revealed, for the first time, the direct measurement of the transformation of lead into gold during high-energy particle collisions.
“Thanks to the unique capabilities of ALICE ZDCs, the present analysis is the first to systematically detect and analyze the signature of gold production at the LHC in an experimental manner,” said Uliana Dmitrieva of the ALICE collaboration.
This important research marks a modern realization of the ancient alchemists' quest for chrysopeia, the philosopher's stone , albeit on a subatomic and fleeting scale.
The search for the philosopher's stone
“Transforming the base metal lead into the precious metal gold was a dream of medieval alchemists,” the research team noted in a press release.
“Only much later was it understood that lead and gold are distinct chemical elements and that chemical methods are unable to transmute one into the other.”
Accurately quantify the process
Using the power of the LHC, scientists observed this transformation and precisely quantified the process that occurs in the extreme environment of colliding lead ions.
The ALICE collaboration's innovative approach focused on “near-miss” collisions of lead nuclei traveling at nearly the speed of light.
CLOUD experiment
“Very high-energy collisions between lead nuclei at the LHC can create quark-gluon plasma, a state of hot, dense matter that is thought to have filled the universe about a millionth of a second after the Big Bang, giving rise to the matter we know today,” reads the press release.
The extraordinarily intense electromagnetic fields generated during these close encounters unleash a torrent of virtual photons.
These photons can interact with passing lead nuclei, causing protons to escape. When a lead nucleus (82 protons) loses three protons, it transmutes into gold (79 protons).
“It is impressive to see that our detectors can handle head-on collisions that produce thousands of particles, while being sensitive to collisions in which only a few particles are produced at a time, enabling the study of rare electromagnetic 'nuclear transmutation' processes,” said Dr Marco Van Leeuwen, spokesperson for ALICE.
Gold, but ephemeral
By meticulously analyzing the byproducts of these interactions using ALICE's zero-degree calorimeters (ZDCs), the team was able to identify distinct signatures of the gold nuclei created.
Their analysis indicates that the LHC is currently producing gold at a peak rate of approximately 89,000 nuclei per second during lead-lead collisions at the ALICE interaction point.
However, the gold created in this process is ephemeral . The high-energy gold nuclei exist for only a tiny fraction of a second before colliding with the LHC infrastructure and disintegrating.
"ALICE analysis shows that, during LHC Run 2 (2015-2018), approximately 86 billion gold nuclei were created in the four main experiments. In terms of mass, this corresponds to just 29 picograms (2.9 ×10-11 g)," highlights the press release.
Future prospects
In addition to the historical resonance of achieving a form of alchemy, this research also offers valuable insights into the operation of particle accelerators.
“The results also test and improve theoretical models of electromagnetic dissociation which, beyond their intrinsic physical interest, are used to understand and predict beam losses which represent an important limit for the performance of the LHC and future colliders,” concluded John Jowett of the ALICE collaboration.
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This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/il-cern-realizza-il-sogno-degli-alchimisti-trasformato-il-piombo-in/ on Fri, 09 May 2025 14:06:26 +0000.