Alchemist’s Dream Realized: Lead Was Turned into Gold at CERN—But Not Like You’d Think

For centuries, the dream of alchemy—the transformation of lead into gold—was pursued by mystics and medieval thinkers. Though their goals were never reached through magic or early chemistry, a version of that dream has now been realized at CERN in 2025. Using modern physics, not philosophy, lead was transmuted into gold through high-energy collisions in the ALICE experiment at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). What was once seen as impossible has now been done—but not quite in the way the alchemists imagined.

A New Age of Alchemy—Powered by Physics

This transformation was not achieved with spells or stones, but through a process rooted in nuclear science. Inside CERN’s ALICE detector, lead ions were accelerated to nearly the speed of light—99.999993% of it, to be exact. Rather than colliding head-on, these ions were brought close enough for their intense electromagnetic fields to interact. During these ultra-peripheral collisions, a burst of photons was released.

It was through this photon-induced dissociation that three protons were knocked out of the lead nucleus. Since gold has three fewer protons than lead, this brief nuclear reshuffling turned lead into gold—literally. The process wasn’t magic. It was physics at work.

A Precious Few Atoms—And Fleeting

The feat wasn’t achieved overnight. Between 2015 and 2018, during what’s known as LHC Run 2, the ALICE team produced about 86 billion gold nuclei, adding up to only 29 picograms—about 29 trillionths of a gram. And in the current run, the production rate has climbed to 89,000 gold nuclei per second.

But none of that gold is around anymore. These atoms were fleeting, surviving for just one microsecond before disintegrating or colliding with the walls of the collider. In other words, gold was created—but it disappeared almost as quickly as it formed.

The Long Road from Myth to Science

The goal of turning lead into gold isn’t new. For thousands of years, alchemists believed in “ennobling” metals through mystical means. However, chemical reactions cannot change an element’s atomic structure. That puzzle was only unlocked by physicists in the 20th century.

In 1980, Glenn Seaborg and his team at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory successfully transmuted bismuth into gold using a particle accelerator. The process was prohibitively expensive and incredibly inefficient—but it worked. Since then, similar transmutations have been observed, including earlier experiments at CERN. Still, the ALICE experiment has marked a new level of precision, using electromagnetic interactions to trigger the transformation.

Why It Matters—Even If It’s Not Practical

This isn’t a discovery that will change the gold market. Producing even a gram of gold through this method would take billions of years and cost trillions of dollars. One online estimate placed the cost of a gram at $2 quintillion. So, if anyone’s hoping to strike it rich, this isn’t the way.

But the real value lies elsewhere. The ALICE experiment has provided critical insights into photon-nucleus interactions, electromagnetic dissociation, and quark-gluon plasma, helping physicists better understand the earliest moments of our universe. Detectors like the Zero Degree Calorimeters have allowed ejected particles to be measured with remarkable accuracy—data that could help refine future collider designs.

From Ancient Quest to Scientific Breakthrough

Though it might seem like science has finally delivered what alchemists once dreamed of, the story is more nuanced. This modern-day “alchemy” was driven not by a desire for wealth, but by a quest for knowledge. Instead of seeking the Philosopher’s Stone, scientists have sought the truths behind matter, energy, and the forces that shape our universe.

What was once a symbol of human folly has now been reframed as a symbol of human achievement. The dream of turning lead into gold may not have ended with treasure, but it has sparked wonder—and that, perhaps, is even more valuable.

For more on this discovery, detailed reports can be found through Scientific American, Nature, and the official CERN ALICE experiment page. Sometimes, it turns out, the pursuit of knowledge really does shine brighter than gold.