frankglennjacobs@gmail.com Posted May 6, 2017 Share Posted May 6, 2017 Swansont wisely told me not to hijack someone else's Thread. After I did. Swansont told me to start a new Thread. So here it is. A modern-day Alchemist suggested (speculated!) in these Speculations that we could turn lead into gold by putting a lead atom next to a hydrogen atom (that shouldn't be too hard) and then synchronizing their vibrations until they merge. No. It was even more technical than that. Line up their axes of spin. And their temperature. And . . . No. I'm getting this all wrong. The solar furnaces make heavy atoms out of light ones all day and all night. That might have something to do with their kazillion-degree heat simply overwhelming all resistance to that atomic synchronization. SOMETHING made gold out of hydrogen. Maybe he's got something there. Pb + H > Au This may be hard to accomplish in an electric home hobby-grade ceramics kiln. Could it be done in a University-grade cyclotron or atom-smasher particle-accelerator? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fiveworlds Posted May 6, 2017 Share Posted May 6, 2017 It is possible to make gold it is just ridiculously expensive to do so. You're talking about a million times the current price of gold. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swansont Posted May 6, 2017 Share Posted May 6, 2017 Describe the pathway for this to happen. "Pb + H > Au" will not suffice IOW, include some science. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrKrettin Posted May 6, 2017 Share Posted May 6, 2017 The Scientific American says yes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fiveworlds Posted May 6, 2017 Share Posted May 6, 2017 (edited) So does wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_transmutation They gave the following equation. 197Au + n → 198Au (half-life 2.7 days) → 198Hg + n → 199Hg + n → 200Hg + n → 201Hg + n → 202Hg + n → 203Hg (halflife 47 days) → 203Tl + n → 204Tl (halflife 3.8 years) → 204Pb Edited May 6, 2017 by fiveworlds 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrKrettin Posted May 6, 2017 Share Posted May 6, 2017 Um - isn't that turning gold into lead? 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sensei Posted May 6, 2017 Share Posted May 6, 2017 A modern-day Alchemist suggested (speculated!) in these Speculations that we could turn lead into gold by putting a lead atom next to a hydrogen atom (that shouldn't be too hard) and then synchronizing their vibrations until they merge. "Modern alchemist" should first learn about atomic number of elements.. learn about protons and neutrons, how they transform, how they decay.. Maybe he's got something there. Pb + H > Au Lead has 82 protons in nucleus, while Gold has 79 protons in nucleus. If you will merge Pb+H you will get Bismuth (with Z=83 protons), not Gold. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swansont Posted May 6, 2017 Share Posted May 6, 2017 "Modern alchemist" should first learn about atomic number of elements.. learn about protons and neutrons, how they transform, how they decay.. Lead has 82 protons in nucleus, while Gold has 79 protons in nucleus. If you will merge Pb+H you will get Bismuth (with Z=83 protons), not Gold. FYI, franklin, this is the reason I asked for the pathway to forming Au from proton bombardment of Pb. There is one, potentially, but if you are going to speculate about it, you need to be the one doing the proposing. (DrKrettin's link shows combining of two heavier nuclei, rather than protons on Pb) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankglennjacobs@gmail.com Posted May 7, 2017 Author Share Posted May 7, 2017 Well, that gets me out of the "Lead Into Gold" business. "I'm all in," as the Hollywood cowboy poker players say when they see what a bad hand they drew. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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