Scientists solve alchemy and turn lead into gold, but there’s a big catch

Hermes Trismegistus, Nicolas Flamel, and John Dee are popping open the champagne in the afterlife right now as, after thousands of years of alchemical experimentation, man has finally succeeded in turning lead into gold.

This process, known by alchemists are chrysopoeia, was one of the fundamental goals of alchemy. For countless hours bearded men worked by candlelight amidst bizarrely shaped glass beakers, roasting smelting furnaces, and curiously bubbling liquids – to no avail. But, it turns out, if you happen to have a Large Hadron Collider to hand, you can indeed do it.

As per SciTechDaily. this is a “a modern alchemical feat” achieved at the very cutting edge of science. Here’s how it works: CERN researchers send lead nuclei through the Large Hadron Collider in opposite directions at 99.999993% of the speed of light. If they come close to a head-on collision, the speeding lead nuclei instead generate “intense electromagnetic forces”, which strip a few protons off the lead nuclei, transforming them into gold.

Physicists at @CERN's Large Hadron Collider (LHC) have achieved a modern form of alchemy by transmuting lead into gold, albeit fleetingly and in minuscule amounts.

During high-speed collisions of lead ions, the @ALICEexperiment (A Large Ion Collider Experiment) detector observed… pic.twitter.com/yPSltKlLJn

— Erika  (@ExploreCosmos_) May 11, 2025

Is gold now worth less?

So, is it time to start stockpiling lead in the hopes of transmuting it to gold? Will gold soon be one of the most common metals on the planet, cratering the jewelry market and rendering Fort Knox completely pointless? Well, settle down Goldfinger, because there’s a catch.

While the lead atoms did indeed turn into gold, the colossal energy used in their production means the gold nuclei are immediately destroyed when they smash against the sides of the LHC almost as soon as they form.

On the bright side, the Large Hadron Collider has produced 86 billion gold nuclei, which sounds like a lot! Unfortunately, nuclei are very, very small, and the total gold produced adds up to 29 picograms. This means the total gold produced adds up to around 0.00000000004% of a standard men’s wedding band. And, to underline it once again, even that tiny amount was instantly destroyed.

In a final bit of irony, it’s been pointed out that Isaac Newton devoted countless hours to alchemy, achieving nothing of note. However, his other work on universal gravitation is the bedrock of physical science, which directly led to the creation of the LHC and its eventual fulfilment of the alchemical dream.

But let’s be upbeat and say it’s a start! Scientists have literally succeeded in turning lead into gold (albeit with a few caveats). Next on the alchemy to-do list is an elixir of immortality. Geneticists, we’re side-eyeing you right now!