Scientists at CERN Are Split-Second Alchemists
A front view of the ALICE experiment
Post Author: - Ellis Nolan
Although they won’t be turning a profit anytime soon, scientists at CERN have become split-second alchemists, briefly turning lead particles into gold.
In a recently published analysis, researchers working on ALICE (A Large Ion Collider Experiment) observed and documented unique behavior in lead isotopes during their procedures. The purpose of ALICE is to better understand the conditions of the universe directly after the Big Bang; To do so, researchers use the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) to fire two beams of lead isotopes at each other at close to the speed of light. When the nuclei of two lead ions collide, they form a material called quark-gluon plasma, which scientists believe was abundant in the universe microseconds after the Big Bang. The aftermath of these collisions is used to study this matter.
A visual depiction of one of ALICE’s collision experiments
Although the purpose of firing these lead particles is to create collisions, sometimes the particles simply skim one another. When this occurs, it can create an electromagnetic field that causes the lead particle to lose three protons, transmuting it, as scientists termed it, into gold. The researchers also realized that any time the LHC is used to fire beams of lead at one another, gold particles are created, it’s just that ALICE is the first experiment with the capability of parsing this occurrence from all other collision debris.
While creating gold from lead is an achievement of mythic proportions, it’s not about to significantly supplement CERN’s funding. Between 2015 and 2018, the researchers estimate particles from collisions inside the LHC created about 29 trillionths of a gram of gold, worth a little more than 0.03 trillionths of a cent as of May 2025. Oh well, an alchemist can always hope.
Interested in precious metals? Check out our Shiny Treasures collection here!
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