Medieval alchemists dreamed of transmuting lead into gold. Today, we know that lead and gold are different elements, and no amount of chemistry can turn one into the other. But our modern ...

The only difference between a lead atom and a gold atom is three protons. Lead has 82, gold has 79. So, in theory, stripping three protons from a lead nucleus should result in gold.

A lead nucleus emits an intense electromagnetic field. In near-misses, a reaction known as electromagnetic dissociation can occur. The lead atom's nucleus vibrates and ejects three of its protons ...

So if you have turned a lead atom into gold, how do you know? In the ALICE experiment, they use special detectors called zero-degree calorimeters to count the protons stripped out of the lead nuclei.

When two lead ions narrowly miss a head-on collision inside the LHC, their intense electromagnetic fields interact. In some of these near-misses, the collision creates a pulse of energy that ...

The Science. A team of theorists has extended their previous critical analysis of the Lead Radius Experiment (PREX). The experiment involved deducing the neutron size of a lead atom’s nucleus by ...

So if you have turned a lead atom into gold, how do you know? In the ALICE experiment, they use special detectors called zero-degree calorimeters to count the protons stripped out of the lead nuclei.