As Gold synthesis one understands the age-old dream of the Alchemists, the production of gold. The gold synthesis is possible by particle accelerators or nuclear reactors, but in practice much too expensive. Since there is only one stable gold isotope, Au 197, nuclear reactions must deliver this isotope in order to produce gold. It is therefore not possible to distinguish artificially produced non-radioactive gold from gold, which comes from natural sources.

Gold synthesis in an accelerator

A gold synthesis in the particle accelerator is possible on many ways. Since particle accelerators use much energy and the effiencies are small, the use of particle accelerators is for this generally unsuitable.

Gold synthesis in a nuclear reactor

In a nuclear reactor gold can be manufactured by irradiation of platinum or mercury. Since platinum is more expensive than gold, platinum is unsuitable as raw material. Only the isotope Hg196, which is with an amount of 0.15% in natural mercury, can be converted from mercury by neutron capture and following K+-decay into Au1 97 with slow neutrons. The other mercury isotopes are converted when irradiated with slow neutrons into one another or formed mercury isotopes, which decay by beta decay into thallium. With fast neutrons the mercury isotope 198, which is contained to 9.97% in natural mercury, can be converted by splitting off of a neutron into the mercury isotope 197, which disintegrates then to stable gold. However this reaction possesses a smaller activation cross-section and is feasible only with unmoderated reactors. It is also possible to eject several neutrons with neutrons of very high energy from the other mercury isotopes in order to get the mercury 197. However neutrons of so high-energy can be produced only by particle accelerators.

Gold synthesis does not have an economic impact because of its low efficiency and high cost, although in the 50's a small quantity of gold was produced by irradiation of mercury in an atomic reactor for demonstration purposes in the USA.

Synthesis of other noble metalls, Synthesis of noble metals