Alchemy

[Forever_frost]

Just found out we can use nuclear reactors to turn mercury into gold. Imagine what this could do to the gold market and economies. Saw a special on it where they were showing them doing it at UC Irvine. Basically, they take a vial of mercury, put it in a reactor for 24 hours and you get gold back.

[jw33]

Could be a crackhead...

[Shorty]

What does that cost?

[UserX]

What does that cost?

nuclear reactors are pretty cheap on ebay

[Forever_frost]

From what Irvine was saying, it costs 200 an hour to run their small system, however if you did this on a reactor already running for power generation would almost be a byproduct

[Ruffdaddy]

Quick! Invest in mercury!!!!

[Forever_frost]

http://www.chm.bris.ac.uk/webprojects2002/crabb/modern.html

In a nuclear reactor gold can be manufactured by irradiation of platinum or mercury. Since platinum is more expensive than gold, platinum is economically unsuitable as a raw material. Only the mercury isotope Hg-196, which occurs with a frequency of 0.15% in natural mercury, can be converted to gold by neutron capture, and following K+- decay into Au-197 with slow neutrons.

Other mercury isotopes are converted when irradiated with slow neutrons into one another or formed mercury isotopes, which beta decay into thallium. Using fast neutrons, the mercury isotope Hg-198, which is contained to 9.97% in natural mercury, can be converted by splitting off a neutron and becoming Hg-197, which then disintegrates to stable gold.

This reaction, however, possesses a smaller activation cross-section and is feasible only with un-moderated reactors. It is also possible to eject several neutrons with very high energy into the other mercury isotopes in order to get the Hg-197. However such high-energy neutrons can be produced only by particle accelerators.

http://www.sciforums.com/Can-you-make-gold-in-a-nuclear-reactor-t-57164.html

[V8tt]

Great...first the gov't prints money to "help" the economy and now this might be the next move. Those gold investments are about to tank.

[Forever_frost]

Currently, UC Birkley Irvine charges 200 bucks an hour to make 3/10th of a cent worth of gold but that's powering up a small reactor, not using a large one already running. I'm thinking this could be interesting but not ready for anyone to worry about quite yet. Still, just something interesting

[Fordblue625]

Could be a crackhead...

That gots a holt of the wrong stuff.

[trblshooter]

I can elaborate on this if you'd like but shit man...I feel like buying a bomb shelter everytime you post something. Squeeze some juice outta this lemon before the bottom drops out buddy.

[majorownage]

Just found out we can use nuclear reactors to turn mercury into gold. Imagine what this could do to the gold market and economies. Saw a special on it where they were showing them doing it at UC Irvine. Basically, they take a vial of mercury, put it in a reactor for 24 hours and you get gold back.

What you hear is true, However, it is not cost effective and takes much longer than 24 hours basically here's what happens:

Mercury+free neutron = radioactive Mercury -> beta decays into Gold

The problem is, neutron sources are hard to come by and cost many $$$

Renting the neutron port at the A&M reactor costs several thousand dollars an hour.

[ramairracer]

You saw that shit on the Hostiry channel ancient alien marathon today

[Forever_frost]

I'm guessing you mean I saw it on the History Channel Ancient Alien Marathon and you would be correct. Then I went and looked it up online.

[Forever_frost]

I can elaborate on this if you'd like but shit man...I feel like buying a bomb shelter everytime you post something. Squeeze some juice outta this lemon before the bottom drops out buddy.

Are you saying I have a future in writing headlines?