How CERN turned lead into gold at Large Hadron Collider
Between 2015 and 2018, scientists at CERN's ALICE experiment pulled off something wild: they used the Large Hadron Collider to turn lead into gold—about 86 billion gold nuclei, to be exact.
By smashing lead ions together at nearly light speed, strong electromagnetic fields knocked off three protons from each nucleus, creating tiny flashes of gold that lasted just a microsecond.
Why is this experiment important?
Even though the total gold made was only about 29 picograms (way too little for a necklace!), this experiment is a big deal for physics.
It helps researchers understand how atomic nuclei break apart and reform—knowledge that keeps the LHC running smoothly and shapes future particle accelerators.
The ALICE team even received media recognition from the Gizmodo Science Fair for confirming this rare transformation, and members of the team are already planning deeper dives into how these atomic building blocks behave at extreme energies.