[TheForge] Alchemy Question

[Bill Alleman]

http://www.chemengineer.about.com/library/weekly/aa050601a.htm



"... Transmutation of lead into gold isn't just theoretically possible
- it has been achieved! There are reports that Glenn Seaborg, 1951
Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, succeeded in transmuting a minute
quantity of lead (possibly en route from bismuth, in 1980) into gold.
There is an earlier report (1972) in which Soviet physicists at a
nuclear research facility near Lake Baikal in Siberia accidentally
discovered a reaction for turning lead into gold when they found the
lead shielding of an experimental reactor had changed to gold.



Today particle accelerators routinely transmute elements. A charged
particle is accelerated using electrical and/or magnetic fields. In a
linear accelerator, the charged particles drift through a series of
charged tubes separated by gaps. Every time the particle emerges
between gaps, it is accelerated by the potential difference between
adjacent segments. In a circular accelerator, magnetic fields
accelerate particles moving in circular paths. In either case, the
accelerated particle impacts a target material, potentially knocking
free protons or neutrons and making a new element or isotope. Nuclear
reactors also may used for creating elements, although the conditions
are less controlled. ..." 



More research at http://www.scirus.com/



Bill Alleman

Tavern Village Forge & Woodcraft
Weare, NH





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