Scientists at CERN Accidentally Turned Lead into Gold while Mimicking the Big Bang

JAKARTA - This experiment is not a story of an alchemist. Scientists working in the Large Ion Collider Experiment (ALICE) experiment at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in Switzerland accidentally produced gold when smashing lead nuclei to mimic the conditions of the universe shortly after the Big Bang. Quoting The Independent report, Thursday, April 2, the amount is very small, only about 29 trillionths of a gram.

Scientifically, lead and gold are distinguished by the number of protons in their atomic nuclei. Lead has three protons more than gold. That means, if three protons can be removed from the lead nucleus, the result is gold.

The problem is, protons are not easily removed. Protons are bound by the strong nuclear force, so it takes a very large electric field to release them. The strength of the field is estimated to be about a million times greater than the electric field that triggers lightning in the atmosphere.

Scientists created that condition by firing lead nuclei at speeds almost equal to the speed of light. If the collision occurs just in front, the nucleus will be completely destroyed. But what happens more often is that it almost collides. In that condition, the electric field between the two nuclei becomes very large and can make the nucleus release protons.

If one proton is stripped away, lead turns into thallium. If two protons are stripped away, the result is mercury. If exactly three protons are stripped away, lead turns into gold.

The Independent reported that in the ALICE experiment, scientists did not observe the gold nucleus directly. They used a special detector called zero-degree calorimeters to calculate the protons detached from the lead nucleus, then concluded what elements were formed.

From the calculation, scientists estimate that the experiment produces about 89,000 gold nuclei per second. The number sounds big, but the mass is still very small.

There's another interesting thing. Once the lead nucleus loses a proton and turns into another element, its trajectory no longer fits the orbit inside the LHC vacuum pipe. In a matter of microseconds, the nucleus will crash into the wall.

So, lead can indeed turn into gold. Only, the way is not through potions or magic, but through particle physics and giant machines that work almost as fast as light.