Can gold be artifically created?

Very interesting read there and discussion here.
I feel like I'm on the Slashdot forums right now. ;-)

 

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Not meaning to drag this out but for the original question the answer is not only yes it can be done, but has been done. Many, many elements are being created in Nuclear testing facilities all the time as experimentations but due to excessive costs, they are not even being considered for production. Different substances are being created in hopes of finding out what really makes things tick. Particles never before thought to exist are being utilized in these places all the time. Such particles as those found at almost absolute Zero temperatures predicted by Einstein are now in the experimentation stages for the slowing of Lights speeds. AND it works.
So back to your question. Yes, yes, yes. With todays technology we can do many things you used to see in Science fiction books.

 

Yes, this is correct. Problem is, the cost is many times more than the value of the gold. It has been done.

 

Not completely true you know. As mentioned previously all elements over number 92 are man made. However, it is the atomic fusion theory of matter creations from other types that we are working on in those mysterious labs all over the place. And more and more substances of unknown origins are constantly being found that have little to do with stars. Such particles are possibly left over from the big bang explosion.

 

I will tack another onto this. When you are done spending $1,000,000 to make $1 worth of gold, you had better enjoy it quickly because most (all?) of what you just made is radioactive and not the normal stable gold isotope. I do not know the half life is, but it is significantly short.

 

There are several different isotopes of radioactive gold http://education.jlab.org/itselemental/iso079.html

It looks like only the lighter ones the really light ones where a significant portion of the sample undergo alpha decay could be dangerous externally but they have short half lives. Isotopes that undergo beta decay could be dangerous if taken internally. The only one with a long half life is gold 195 but it is pretty harmless. It captures an electron and becomes Platinum 195 which is stable.

 

Now I am confused..........if the number of electrons are changed it becomes an ion not an isotope or a diff element...........

 

The nucleous captures the electron which combines with a proton to create a neutron so the number of neutrons increases by one and the number of protons decreases by one from 79 to 78 giving you Pt 195. And in the process a neutrino is emitted but since it carries no mass and is so unreactive that it can be pretty much ignored.

 

It may all sound confusing and for many it really is. However, our tecnology of today has realized this and usually simplifies the real facts with those that are easily understood. For example it is still explained in most text books that light travels in a straight line and has a constant speed. Both these are not true but much eaier to believe. Same with the manufacturing of Gold or anything. Real, honest to goodness, true to life, not fake, not an unstable substance, Gold has been created in atomic labs along with numerous other elements. However as already noted, way to expensive to produce for general usage.

 

This is correct. What a lot of people don't know is a neutron is simply a proton which has combined with a proton. This is why a neutron has slightly more mass than a proton.

 

Silver?

Are they creating anything that has similiar properties of Silver? At a reasonable cost? I keep reading where the world only has a confirmed 9 year supply of Silver.

 

And 50 years ago we only had a 25 year supply of oil.

 

Peak Oil?

Yes, they claimed we were running out during the oil embargo. A couple of oil company experts was asked about that on a cable business show. Their response? They said it simply was'nt true. But most news publications still rant about peak oil!

 

It costs many many many times more to create gold than the gold is worth...it would likely cost the same to make silver. So, I highly doubt they will be making silver in this way large scale.

 

Yes I remember the newspaper ads and stories saying the world was going to run completely out of oil by the mid 1980's.

I also remember some of the experiments to turn lead into gold. They were successful but were just done for theoretical testing because as they said "It isn't practical. We use a one billion dollar machine and five hundred dollars worth of electricity to turn one cents worth of lead into one and one tenths cent worth of lead and gold."

 

Hey! Just like my paycheck!!! (ba da boom)

 

OK, so take 50 grams of lead... one litre of water.three grams of magnesium and 100 grams of gold. Place the lead in a convenient heatproof container with the magnesium and the gold, melt them together until fully liquified at around 1000 degrees then pour off the lead which will be on top.... the magnesium will have disappeared.. put the gold in the water to cool and there you have it at least 100 grams of gold!!!!! How about that then.

 

it may not be "making" gold but i have heard of gold being produced from "sea water" (no idea how) also some plants in "gold country" actualy absorb gold into their leaves and it can be recovered by burning the plants. mike.hya:

 

We need a Alchemist !!!!! Hey Mike, how about gold mining in Nevada using the cyanide leeching process, pretty gruesome.

 

Perhaps fraudulent gold stock certificates or a gold pump & dump....Works for the Hunt brothers but that was silver oh well.