Modern alchemist: American startup claims it can turn metal into gold
The company has proposed an innovative technique harnessing neutron radiation inside nuclear fusion reactors. Their method involves bombarding mercury-198 isotopes with high-energy neutrons. This creates radioactive mercury-197, which then decays into stable gold-197—the only naturally stable isotope of gold.Theoretically, a gigawatt thermal fusion plant could produce several tonnes of gold annually.It is not improbabvle since, At CERN's Large Hadron Collider (LHC) near Geneva, physicists smash subatomic particles together, sometimes creating trace amounts of gold.
Making gold from mercury via fusion is scientifically plausible. (Photo: Getty)
The ALICE experiment, for instance, produced a mere 29 picograms of gold over four years, a quantity so minuscule it would take hundreds of times the universe's age to yield a troy ounce. Clearly, particle accelerators are nowhere near practical for gold manufacturing.The key challenge is generating the intense neutron flux with energy levels above 6 million electron volts to initiate this transmutation. Marathon Fusion employs a "digital twin," a sophisticated computer model of fusion reactor physics, to predict outcomes.Yet, no commercial fusion reactor exists to validate these projections, leaving the approach untested.Fusion reactors themselves remain experimental, grappling with complex hurdles like new material development and stable plasma control. Advanced projects such as the UK's Joint European Torus (JET) have produced modest energy output, but future designs like the Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP) aim to be operational by 2040, potentially unlocking fusion power's promise.Another critical consideration: any gold formed would initially be radioactive waste, necessitating careful handling and decay time before it becomes usable. This adds another layer of complexity and cost.While making gold from mercury via fusion is scientifically plausible and exciting as a concept, it currently remains an impractical venture.Investors and scientists alike await breakthroughs in fusion technology before a modern "gold rush" can begin. Until then, the alchemist's dream persists more as a tantalizing future possibility than immediate reality.- EndsTrending Reel
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Modern alchemist: American startup claims it can turn metal into gold
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