# Transmutation of elements. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 19, 2002, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/transmutation-of-elements/137592 "2002-11-19T19:41:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2002, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/transmutation-of-elements/137592/1 "2002-11-19T19:41:01Z")
Say I have a hydrogen atom in a really small C-clamp. With me so far? I take a really small pair of tweezers and pluck off a proton and throw it in the wastebasket. Then I take a pair of tweezers 1/186th the size of the previous one and pluck an electron and throw that haze of probability into the same wastebasket. Would I, then, have a hydrogen atom? Is it really that simple to transmute elements? I know this sounds simplistic (and it is) but I wondered if there wasn’t something intrinsic to elements or whether just changing the protons and electrons would get the job done. Please, enlighten me. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2002, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/transmutation-of-elements/137592/2 "2002-11-19T19:45:12Z")
Nope…that’s all there is too it. In fact, it can be done today. The old alchemists dream of converting lead into gold can be done. The only reason it isn’t generally done is it costs a helluva lot more to make gold this way than it is just to mine it. ---
**Author:** ![JS\_Princeton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/57b2e6/32.png) [@JS\_Princeton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JS_Princeton)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2002, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/transmutation-of-elements/137592/3 "2002-11-19T19:50:18Z")
I’m not sure where you got the 1/186th number for the tweezer size differential. It is similar (but off by an order of magnitude) to the mass differential between an electron and a proton. Otherwise, you have just gotten rid of all that is a hydrogen atom. ---
**Author:** ![ForgottenLore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5e9695/32.png) [@ForgottenLore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ForgottenLore)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2002, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/transmutation-of-elements/137592/4 "2002-11-19T19:52:07Z")
> [@](#): > > Say I have a hydrogen atom in a really small C-clamp. Did you mean a helium atom? If not, what you’ve got left is nuttin’. Otherwise, yes, it’s that easy. Good luck grinding down the tweezers, though. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2002, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/transmutation-of-elements/137592/5 "2002-11-19T20:01:14Z")
Dang! I can’t believe I blew that! I knew is was Helium and distracted myself. I’m gonna go write ‘Helium is element #2’ a thousand times. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2002, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/transmutation-of-elements/137592/6 "2002-11-19T20:11:20Z")
For natural transmutation of elements that happens all the time, read about Radioactive Decay in your nearest chemistry textbook. As for manually changing elements around, it’s as simple as you describe, but not very easy. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![JaKiri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a8b319/32.png) [@JaKiri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JaKiri)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2002, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/transmutation-of-elements/137592/7 "2002-11-19T20:14:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jonathan Chance \* > > * * * To make elements that don’t exist in nature, all that they do is fire one nucleus at another nucleus, and hope they stay together. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2002, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/transmutation-of-elements/137592/8 "2002-11-19T20:28:38Z")
That seems somewhat haphazard. Have they tried KrazyGlue? ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2002, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/transmutation-of-elements/137592/9 "2002-11-19T20:36:10Z")
Yes, but it’s hard to get just the right amount out. ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2002, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/transmutation-of-elements/137592/10 "2002-11-19T20:41:59Z")
Actually, if you take a stable helium atom ([sup]4[/sup]He), and remove a proton and an electron, you will be left with an atom of radioactive tritium ([sup]3[/sup]H).