Large Hadron Collider Physicists Turn Lead into Gold—For a Fraction of a Second

image via New Scientist

May 9, 2025, 7:30 PM

• •Physicists at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) have successfully transmuted lead into gold.
• •This transformation occurs for only a fraction of a second during high-energy collisions of lead ions.
• •The ALICE experiment at CERN is specifically designed to detect and analyze this process.
• •While the amount of gold produced is minuscule, the research provides insights into nuclear physics and beam control.

In a modern twist on alchemy, physicists at CERN's Large Hadron Collider have briefly transformed lead into gold. This transmutation occurs when beams of lead ions collide at near light speed, with the intense electromagnetic fields causing a lead nucleus to eject protons and become gold. The ALICE experiment detected 86 billion gold nuclei, totaling 29 trillionths of a gram, formed during collisions between 2015 and 2018. Despite the fleeting existence of the gold, this research enhances understanding of nuclear processes and improves the LHC's beam control.

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