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tahayassen
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Why is it impossible to change the number of protons of an atom? Is it because the protons are in the nucleus? How can we change the number of neutrons then?
sjb-2812 said:Perhaps philosophically, if you change the number of protons of an atom, it no longer retains the identity of that atom.
So for instance adding 2 protons to an atom of carbon changes it to oxygen.
It's certainly possible to amend proton numbers, look into radioactive decay, nuclear fusion and fission for instance
D H said:It is possible to turn lead into gold (and vice versa). Chemical reactions don't cut it; the energy is too low. Chemical reactions leave the nucleus intact. What can be done is to bombard the lead (or gold) with the right kind of high energy particles at the right energy.
It isn't cheap. The costs involved in turning lead into gold is a whole lot more than the value of the gold produced.
chemisttree said:Well it might be unless you use this wonderful E-Cat reactor! Practically worthless nickel is transmuted into valuable copper in this reactor... all while providing valuable thermal energy as well! I'd link to the E-Cat site but the Forum rules forbid links to crackpot sites. Perhaps we could pool our money and buy one of these reactors and load it up with osmium and run it. In a few months we would have valuable iridium! Or maybe platinum!
tahayassen said:Sorry. I'm a bit slow. You're teasing crackpot pseudo scientists, right?
tahayassen said:Sorry. I'm a bit slow. You're teasing crackpot pseudo scientists, right?
Thats what atom bomb is all about !Pengwuino said:Are you speaking of changing it in terms of using chemical reactions? Protons and neutrons are tightly bound to the nucleus. The amount of energy required to remove one is far greater than the energy typically found in chemical reactions.
D H said:It is possible to turn lead into gold (and vice versa). Chemical reactions don't cut it; the energy is too low. Chemical reactions leave the nucleus intact. What can be done is to bombard the lead (or gold) with the right kind of high energy particles at the right energy.
It isn't cheap. The costs involved in turning lead into gold is a whole lot more than the value of the gold produced.
Aleklett, K. et al., Energy dependence of 209Bi fragmentation in relativistic nuclear collisions, Phys. Rev. C 23, 1044–1046 (1981)calculusian said:Can we do it are you sure?
Thanks for reply also refer to http://chemistry.about.com/cs/generalchemistry/a/aa050601a.htmD H said:Aleklett, K. et al., Energy dependence of 209Bi fragmentation in relativistic nuclear collisions, Phys. Rev. C 23, 1044–1046 (1981)The results of cross-section measurements for the reactions 209Bi(12C,X)Au, E=4.8 and 25.2 GeV and 209Bi(20Ne,X)Au, E=8.0 GeV are reported. The observed yields of the gold isotopes show a similar dependence on mass number for each reaction, differing slightly in the position of the centroid of the distribution. As the projectile energy increases, the inferred excitation energy of the primary residues remains the same or decreases slightly. This observation is in agreement with the predictions of the intranuclear cascade model of relativistic heavy ion collisions.Some of the intermediate products along the way from bismuth to gold were lead. This team, led by Glenn Seaborg, created gold. Very, very, very expensive gold.
Or, in lay terms, Guinness World RecordsMost lead turned into gold In 1980, the reknowned (sic) scientist Glenn Seaborg (U.S.A.) transmuted several thousand atoms of lead into gold at the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory in California, U.S.A. His experimental technique, which uses nuclear physics to remove protons and neutrons from the lead atoms, is far too expensive to enable routine manufacturing of gold from lead.
The number of protons in an atom, known as its atomic number, is a fundamental property that defines the identity of an element. Changing the number of protons would result in a completely different element. Let's explore some common questions about why altering the number of protons in an atom is impossible:
Protons are subatomic particles found within the nucleus of an atom. They carry a positive electric charge and are one of the three fundamental particles that make up an atom, the other two being neutrons and electrons.
The number of protons in the nucleus of an atom determines the element to which it belongs. This number is referred to as the atomic number. Elements are defined by their unique atomic numbers. For example, all hydrogen atoms have one proton, while all oxygen atoms have eight protons.
No, the number of protons in an atom cannot be changed without fundamentally altering the nature of the atom. Changing the number of protons would result in the creation of a different element altogether. This process is not achievable under normal chemical or physical conditions.
When the number of protons in an atom changes, the resulting atom becomes a different element with unique chemical properties. For example, if you were to add a proton to an oxygen atom (which normally has eight protons), it would become a fluorine atom (which has nine protons). The behavior and properties of these two elements are distinct.
Elements with different numbers of protons are not created naturally through chemical reactions. Instead, they are formed through nuclear processes such as nuclear fusion (combining nuclei) or nuclear fission (splitting nuclei). These processes occur under extreme conditions, such as in the cores of stars or during nuclear reactions in laboratories.
Isotopes are variants of an element that have the same number of protons but different numbers of neutrons. While the number of protons remains constant, isotopes may have varying atomic masses due to their differing neutron counts. Isotopes of an element exhibit similar chemical properties but may have distinct physical properties.
In summary, the number of protons in an atom, known as the atomic number, is a fundamental property that defines the element. Changing the number of protons would result in a different element with distinct chemical properties. Such a change cannot be achieved through normal chemical reactions and requires extreme nuclear processes.