At the beginning of this century, the successive discovery of element radioactivity and the revelation of atomic internal structure broke this concept. Scientists believe that it is entirely possible to make gold artificially.
As we know, the difference of various elements lies in the number of protons, neutrons and electrons in their atoms, especially the number of protons in atoms. If the number of protons in the nucleus can be changed artificially, one element can be changed into another. That is to say, as long as some protons can be removed from the atom of an element with a serial number greater than 79, or some protons can be added to the atom of an element with a serial number less than 79 to make its mass 79, these non-79 elements can be converted into 79 element gold.
But adding protons to atoms is not as simple as putting beans in a container. The nucleus is so strong that it takes a lot of energy to destroy it. It is calculated that the energy required to take out a proton from the nucleus is one million times higher than that required to split a molecule into atoms. Therefore, in the process of chemical reaction, the nucleus is always "safe and sound", and the use of any chemical means and ordinary physical methods (such as heating) can only lead to the recombination of atoms or the decomposition of molecules into atoms, which is the fundamental reason why alchemists cannot make gold. In order to realize the transmutation between atoms, nuclear reactions must be used in special devices.
Modern science and technology have proved that in the giant particle accelerator, atoms can be bombarded with ultra-high-speed "particle shells" such as protons, neutrons, deuterons and A particles to smash them, and then protons, neutrons and electrons recombine into new atoms.
Not surprisingly, 194 1 year, the dream of "artificial gold" for thousands of years has finally come true. Dr. bainbridge of Harvard University and his assistant used "slow neutron technology" to successfully change mercury with atomic number 1 larger than gold into gold.
1980, the researchers of Lawrence Berkeley Institute in the United States once again converted element 83 bismuth into gold. They put bismuth into a high-energy accelerator and bombarded its nucleus with particles approaching the speed of light. As a result, four protons were separated from the nucleus, leaving 79 protons, and the structure of bismuth atoms changed accordingly, becoming gold atoms. In a similar way, they turned lead, element 82, into gold.
Unfortunately, at present, gold can only be made by this artificial method, and it can only be made in a few high-tech laboratories. It is conceivable that it is undoubtedly "not worth the loss" to obtain gold in this way. But the fact that man can make gold artificially is more valuable than gold itself. We believe that with the development of high-tech, one day people will be able to establish a highly economically feasible system so that gold can be easily made of cheap metals, but at that time, perhaps gold will be reduced from "aristocrat" to "civilian". ?