Atticus Rare Books

Energy dependence of 209 Bi fragmentation in relativistic nuclear collisions in Physical Review C 23 Issue 3 pp. 1044-1046, March 1981 [ALCHEMY. MODERN PHILOSOPHER’S STONE]

Seaborg, Glenn T; Morrissey, David C.

American Physical Society, 1981. 1st Edition. FIRST EDITION IN ORIGINAL WRAPS OF “THE FIRST SUCCESSFUL ALCHEMICAL EXPERIMENT IN HISTORY” (Valijak, Vintage News, 2017). Seaborg and his team transmuted several thousand atoms of bismuth into gold for the first time by accelerating carbon and neon nuclei to near light speed and then directing them into foils of bismuth, splitting off parts of the bismuth nucleus. This technique, while too costly for routine manufacturing, is the modern version of the "Philosopher's Stone," a legendary method for turning base metals into gold.

“In 1980, he used his extensive knowledge of nuclear chemistry and nuclear physics to conduct the first successful alchemical experiment in the history of humanity. He employed a particle accelerator to remove protons and neutrons from several thousand atoms of bismuth and managed to transmute them into atoms of gold. Although several thousand atoms is a quantity so small that it is not even visible to the naked eye, Seaborg proved that alchemy has been pursuing a completely achievable goal for the past several thousand years.

Well, one might ask, if Seaborg managed to produce gold out of a non-precious metal, why aren’t people using his revolutionary technique today to produce massive amounts of gold? The answer to that question is the fact that the process discovered by Seaborg is so incredibly complex and so immensely expensive that it would require quadrillions of dollars to produce just an ounce of gold. The process requires a particle accelerator, huge amounts of energy, and a lot of time. Therefore, Seaborg’s technique will likely never be used to produce significant amounts of gold as contemporary science has far more important projects that are not as expensive and time-consuming. Nonetheless, he was indeed the first person in history who managed to produce something very similar to the fabled Philosopher’s Stone” (ibid).

NOTE: Listed separately, we also offer Seaborg’s 1946 work, “The Transuranium Elements”, “one of the most significant changes to the periodic table since Mendeleev’s 19th century design. Seaborg Obituary, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory). Item #1311

CONDITION & DETAILS: Complete. 4to. 10.25 x 7.5 inches. Individual issue in original wraps. Spine professionally repaired and light library stamp on front cover, otherwise pristine. Housed in custom pamphlet case, gilt-lettered and ruled at the spine. Bright and very clean throughout.

Price: $425.00