It’s not fantasy anymore — physicists at CERN have done what ancient alchemists could only dream of. Using the ALICE experiment at the Large Hadron Collider, scientists smashed lead atoms together at near light-speed, stripping away protons and creating actual gold atoms — if only for a fraction of a second.
How? By removing three protons from lead (atomic number 82), they momentarily created gold (atomic number 79) through nuclear transmutation — the real science behind turning one element into another.
This isn’t about riches. The gold produced was microscopic — just picograms — but the achievement is a milestone in understanding the origins of matter and the behavior of atomic nuclei under extreme energy.
From myth to measurable reality, we’ve finally cracked the code of alchemy — not with magic, but with the power of particle physics.
#CERN #LHC #ALICEexperiment #ParticlePhysics #AlchemyRealized
How? By removing three protons from lead (atomic number 82), they momentarily created gold (atomic number 79) through nuclear transmutation — the real science behind turning one element into another.
This isn’t about riches. The gold produced was microscopic — just picograms — but the achievement is a milestone in understanding the origins of matter and the behavior of atomic nuclei under extreme energy.
From myth to measurable reality, we’ve finally cracked the code of alchemy — not with magic, but with the power of particle physics.
#CERN #LHC #ALICEexperiment #ParticlePhysics #AlchemyRealized
It’s not fantasy anymore — physicists at CERN have done what ancient alchemists could only dream of. Using the ALICE experiment at the Large Hadron Collider, scientists smashed lead atoms together at near light-speed, stripping away protons and creating actual gold atoms — if only for a fraction of a second.
How? By removing three protons from lead (atomic number 82), they momentarily created gold (atomic number 79) through nuclear transmutation — the real science behind turning one element into another.
This isn’t about riches. The gold produced was microscopic — just picograms — but the achievement is a milestone in understanding the origins of matter and the behavior of atomic nuclei under extreme energy.
From myth to measurable reality, we’ve finally cracked the code of alchemy — not with magic, but with the power of particle physics.
#CERN #LHC #ALICEexperiment #ParticlePhysics #AlchemyRealized
