Artistic visualization of the electromagnetic forces at play during ultra-peripheral collisions at CERN's Large Hadron Collider, where lead ions traveling at near-light speed generate intense photon bursts capable of nuclear transmutation. The glowing energy streams represent the moment when physics transforms lead into gold through pure electromagnetic interaction, bringing ancient alchemical dreams into the realm of quantum reality.

Turning Lead into Gold: The Real Alchemy at CERN

Science and Technology /

Picture of the ALICE detector, Image Credit: CERN How Relativistic Physics Fulfills an Ancient Alchemical Dream In the hushed corridors of CERN‘s sprawling complex near Geneva, a pursuit that once captivated medieval alchemists has found a modern scientific realization. Physicists using the ALICE (A Large Ion Collider Experiment) detector have observed the transformation of lead […]

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