# CERN's ALICE Experiment Systematically Detects Gold Production from Lead

- Published: 2026-11-07 05:46 UTC
- Section: Science › Physics
- Tags: CERN ALICE experiment, Large Hadron Collider gold production, electromagnetic dissociation lead, nuclear transmutation, LHC Run 2 Run 3, beam loss physics
- URL: https://realtech.media/news/rt-d63831961f6e4d3fe5795d72_cern_s_alice/

**Researchers tracked electromagnetic dissociation in the LHC, where lead nuclei shed protons to yield picograms of gold.**

![CERN's ALICE Experiment Systematically Detects Gold Production from Lead](https://realtech.media/media/2026/11/151e2412f4d55158.webp)
*Novinky.cz*

Physicists at the ALICE experiment at CERN's Large Hadron Collider (LHC) have experimentally detected and systematically analyzed the transformation of lead nuclei into gold, according to Novinky.cz [1]. The 27-kilometer underground collider near Geneva accelerated lead ions to near light speed, creating conditions where high-energy nuclear interactions shed nucleons [1].

## Mechanism of Electromagnetic Dissociation

A lead nucleus contains 82 protons, whereas gold contains 79. The conversion does not require direct central collisions, which researchers typically use to generate quark-gluon plasma [1]. Instead, transformation occurs when two ultra-relativistic lead ions pass extremely close to each other without colliding [1].

Because these ions carry large positive electrical charges, their close passage generates intense electromagnetic fields [1]. The field of one ion disrupts the other, ejecting neutrons and protons via electromagnetic dissociation [1]. When exactly three protons and several neutrons are stripped away, the lead nucleus transitions into a gold nucleus [1].

## Detection Yields and Beam Dynamics

Data analysis revealed that during the LHC's Run 2 from 2015 to 2018, four major experiments generated approximately 86 billion gold nuclei [1]. The total combined mass of these synthesized nuclei was 29 picograms [1]. Production accelerated during Run 3, which began in 2022; by May 2025, CERN reported that nearly double the amount of gold generated during Run 2 had already formed [1].

The resulting gold cannot be extracted. Because the gold nuclei possess high kinetic energy and a lower electric charge than lead, the LHC's bending magnets cannot maintain them in the beam trajectory [1]. The newly formed nuclei diverge from the beam within microseconds and collide with the vacuum pipe walls or accelerator components [1]. This effect contributes to beam loss and limits machine luminosity [1]. Further experiments are paused following the planned shutdown of the collider on June 29 for Long Shutdown 3, which is scheduled to last approximately four years [1].

## Sources

1. [Novinky.cz](https://www.novinky.cz/clanek/veda-skoly-v-cernu-promenili-olovo-ve-zlato-dalsi-pokusy-ale-museji-pockat-40606997)

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Source: RealTech, realtech.media — https://realtech.media/news/rt-d63831961f6e4d3fe5795d72_cern_s_alice/