在化学是一门科学之前，有炼金术。炼金术的最高任务之一是将铅转化为黄金。 铅（原子序数82）和金（原子序数79）由它们所拥有的质子数定义为元素。改变元素需要改变原子（质子）数。质子的数量不能用任何化学方法来改变。然而，物理学可以用来添加或去除质子，从而将一个元素改变为另一个元素。因为铅是稳定的，迫使它释放三个质子需要大量的能量输入，使得它转化的成本大大超过所得金的价值。铅转化为金不仅在理论上是可能的，而且实际上已经实现了！有报道称，1951年诺贝尔化学奖得主格伦·希伯格成功地将微量铅（可能在1980年从铋中途）转化为金。有一个早期的报告（1972年），其中苏联物理学家在西伯利亚贝加尔湖附近的一个核研究设施中发现铅变成金的反应，当他们发现实验反应堆的铅屏蔽已经变成了金。今天粒子加速器经常转换元素。带电粒子通过电场和/或磁场加速。在线性加速器中，带电粒子通过一系列由间隙隔开的带电管漂移。每当粒子在间隙之间出现时，它就被相邻段之间的势差加速。在圆形加速器中，磁场加速粒子在圆形路径中运动。无论哪种情况，加速的粒子撞击目标物质，潜在地撞击自由质子或中子，并制造新的元素或同位素。核反应堆也可用于制造元件，尽管条件较少控制。在自然界中，新元素是通过向恒星核内的氢原子中加入质子和中子而形成的，从而产生越来越重的元素，达到铁（原子序数26）。这个过程叫做核合成。在超新星的恒星爆炸中形成比铁重的元素。在超新星中，黄金可以转化为铅，而不是反过来。虽然将铅转化成金可能从来就不常见，但从铅矿石中获取金却是可行的。方铅矿（硫化铅、硫化铅）、方铅矿（碳酸铅、碳酸铅、碳酸铅）和角闪石（硫酸铅、硫酸铅、硫酸铅）通常含有锌、金、银和其他金属。一旦矿石被粉碎，化学技术足以从铅中分离出金。结果几乎是炼金术……几乎。
澳大利亚格里菲斯论文代写：化学史
Before chemistry was a science, there was alchemy. One of the highest tasks of alchemy is to convert lead into gold. Lead (atomic number 82) and gold (atomic number 79) are defined as elements by the number of protons they possess. Changing elements requires changing the number of atoms (protons). The number of protons cannot be changed by any chemical method. However, physics can be used to add or remove protons, thereby changing one element into another. Because lead is stable, forcing it to release three protons requires a lot of energy input, which makes the cost of its transformation greatly exceed the value of the gold obtained. The transformation of lead into gold is not only theoretically possible, but also practically possible. It has been reported that Glenn Heeberg, the 1951 Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry, successfully converted trace lead (probably halfway from bismuth in 1980) into gold. There was an early report (1972) in which Soviet physicists discovered the reaction of lead to gold at a nuclear research facility near Lake Baikal in Siberia, when they found that the lead shield of the experimental reactor had turned to gold. Today particle accelerators often convert elements. Charged particles are accelerated by electric and/or magnetic fields. In linear accelerators, charged particles drift through a series of charged tubes separated by gaps. Whenever a particle appears between gaps, it is accelerated by the potential difference between adjacent segments. In a circular accelerator, the magnetic field accelerates the motion of particles in a circular path. In either case, accelerated particles hit the target material, potentially hitting free protons or neutrons, and creating new elements or isotopes. Nuclear reactors can also be used to make components, although conditions are less controlled. In nature, new elements are formed by adding protons and neutrons to hydrogen atoms in the nucleus of a star, resulting in heavier and heavier elements, reaching iron (atomic number 26). This process is called nuclear synthesis. Iron-specific elements are formed in supernova star explosions. In supernovae, gold can be converted into lead, not vice versa. Although it may never be common to convert lead into gold, it is feasible to obtain gold from lead ores. Galena (lead sulfide, lead sulfide), galena (lead carbonate, lead carbonate, lead carbonate) and amphibole (lead sulfate, lead sulfate, lead sulfate) usually contain zinc, gold, silver and other metals. Once the ore is crushed, chemical technology is sufficient to separate gold from lead. The result is almost alchemy… Almost.