Is it possible to transmute elements?

Nuclear transmutation is the conversion of one chemical element or an isotope into another chemical element. A transmutation can be achieved either by nuclear reactions (in which an outside particle reacts with a nucleus) or by radioactive decay, where no outside cause is needed.

Why is transmutation impossible?

It was never found. Because each element has a different but fixed number of protons in the nucleus of the atom, which is the atomic number, the transmutation of one chemical element into another involves changing that number.

Is it possible to turn any metals into gold?

Yes, gold can be created from other elements. But the process requires nuclear reactions, and is so expensive that you currently cannot make money by selling the gold that you create from other elements. Every atom containing 79 protons is a gold atom, and all gold atoms behave the same chemically.

Can gold be transmuted?

This process is called nucleosynthesis. Elements heavier than iron are formed in the stellar explosion of a supernova. In a supernova, gold may be transformed into lead—but not the other way around. While it may never be commonplace to transmute lead into gold, it is practical to obtain gold from lead ores.

Is alchemy possible?

Short answer: Depending on how you define alchemy, yes, it’s possible, and we do it. Long answer: Alchemists were basically the precursors to chemists, in the same way that philosophers conjecturing about the four elements were the precursor to physics.

Can humans perform alchemy?

Humans are one of the dominant beings on the planet Earth. In addition to being the only life forms capable of using tools and skills in an advanced manner, they are also the only known species on Earth capable of performing alchemy.

Can you turn iron into gold?

Rather than the atoms and elements we know today, alchemists believed everything in the world was made up of four elements: air, earth, fire, and water. Therefore, it’s not possible to adjust the percentages of those elements within iron to turn it into gold.