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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NDTV
2 days ago
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US Startup Claims To Have Found New Way To Make 5,000-Kg Of Gold Every Year
A US startup has claimed that it has found a novel way to turn mercury into gold, opening a new 'revenue stream for the future'. San Francisco-based Marathon Fusion stated that using the nuclear fusion process, the precious element can be developed. Using the radioactivity from neutron particles in a nuclear fusion reactor, the team from Marathon Fusion said mercury can be converted into mercury-197. Afterwards, this element decays into a stable form of gold: gold-197. "Fusion-driven transmutation of mercury into gold transforms fusion energy from a stand-alone power technology into a multi-product industrial platform, dramatically strengthening its economic and societal value proposition," the company highlighted in a yet-to-be-peer-reviewed paper. As per the estimates by the researchers, a fusion power plant could produce 5,000 kg of gold per gigawatt of thermal power in a single year of operation. Since one gigawatt is the average output of a large nuclear plant, it could lead to over $550 million worth of gold per year per GW of fusion energy. "With focused effort on the technology gaps identified, the approach described could accelerate the commercial deployment of fusion power and, in doing so, turn an ancient aspiration into a reality. The goal of classical alchemy is now achievable through practical engineered solutions." The researchers said the gold was the bonus byproduct of the fusion reactors, and it would not interfere with the plant's primary purpose of developing clean energy. However, one complication is that the presence of other types of mercury may result in the production of unstable gold isotopes alongside gold-197, meaning the metal could be partially radioactive. Marathon Fusion's chief technology officer, Adam Rutkowski told Financial Times that the gold would have to be stored for 14 to 18 years for it to be labelled radiation-safe. Gold from mercury -- dream or pipe dream? Scientists regard nuclear fusion as the holy grail of energy that could help in generating limitless, clean energy for the planet. It is what powers our Sun as atomic nuclei are merged to create massive amounts of energy, which is the opposite of the fission process used in atomic weapons and nuclear power plants, where the heavy atom is split into multiple smaller ones. In the last few years, Marathon Fusion has raised almost $6 million in investments and $4 million in government grants, as it focuses on developing efficient nuclear fusion power systems. However, until commercial fusion reactors are developed, the dream of making gold from mercury may remain a pipe dream.
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2 days ago
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Modern alchemist: American startup claims it can turn metal into gold
The age-old quest to turn ordinary metals into gold, a dream of alchemy, has seen a scientific revival thanks to advances in nuclear physics and fusion classic alchemists expected to achieve this through mystical means, modern science understands how to change one element into another using particle physics. However, the practical challenges remain startup Marathon Fusion, now claims a new way to turn metal into 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 a gigawatt thermal fusion plant could produce several tonnes of gold 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 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 no commercial fusion reactor exists to validate these projections, leaving the approach 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 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 making gold from mercury via fusion is scientifically plausible and exciting as a concept, it currently remains an impractical 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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3 days ago
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Elon Musk's dad shares love for Novak Djokovic during private family meeting in Belgrade
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