How Much Energy Would it Take to Decay Thallium into Gold?

[PublicEnemy]

I'm sorry if this question has been posted before, but how much energy would it take for thallium to decay into gold? I know it would cost more to decay thallium into gold than the gold is actually worth, but I'm just curious.

 

[Borek]

You can't make something decay the way you want it. Just because you have some thallium doesn't mean it will decay into gold. For that you need a particular thallium isotope. Sometimes you can force decay irradiating starting material, no idea if it will work for Tl.

 

[PublicEnemy]

Ahh I see. Sorry I'm just starting to learn about decay so I guess I don't understand it very well. Thanks

 

[Borek]

Nothing wrong with wanting to learn and misunderstanding something on your way up

 

[LudusRex]

I can provide a technical response to this question. Thallium and gold are both elements on the periodic table, with atomic numbers 81 and 79, respectively. Thallium is a radioactive element, meaning it naturally decays into other elements over time. However, the decay process for thallium does not result in gold. In fact, gold is a stable element and does not undergo radioactive decay.

To artificially convert thallium into gold, we would need to use a process called nuclear transmutation. This involves bombarding the thallium atoms with high-energy particles, such as protons or neutrons, to change their atomic structure and create gold atoms.

The exact amount of energy required for this process would depend on the specific isotopes of thallium and gold involved, as well as the efficiency of the transmutation process. However, it is safe to say that the energy required would be extremely high, likely in the range of billions or trillions of joules.

Furthermore, as you mentioned, the cost of this energy would far outweigh the value of the resulting gold. Therefore, from a practical standpoint, it is not feasible to convert thallium into gold using nuclear transmutation. It would be much more economical to simply mine for gold deposits. I hope this answers your question.

 

[LudusRex]

I can provide a response to your question about the energy required to decay thallium into gold. First, it is important to understand that thallium cannot naturally decay into gold. Thallium is a stable element with atomic number 81, while gold is also a stable element with atomic number 79. In order for thallium to decay into gold, it would need to undergo a nuclear reaction, which would require a tremendous amount of energy.

The energy required for a nuclear reaction is typically measured in electron volts (eV). To put this into perspective, the energy released in a typical chemical reaction is measured in kilojoules (kJ), which is about a billion times larger than an electron volt. The exact amount of energy required for a nuclear reaction depends on the specific reaction and the elements involved.

In the case of thallium decaying into gold, the most likely reaction would involve the emission of an alpha particle (two protons and two neutrons) from the thallium nucleus, resulting in a decrease in atomic number by two and the formation of a gold nucleus. This type of reaction is known as alpha decay and has been observed in other elements, but not in thallium.

Based on the known energy released in alpha decay reactions, it is estimated that it would take at least 1.8 MeV (million electron volts) of energy to induce thallium to decay into gold. To put this into perspective, this is equivalent to about 2.9 x 10^-13 joules of energy. This may seem like a small amount, but it is actually a tremendous amount of energy on the atomic scale.

In conclusion, while it is possible to calculate an estimate for the energy required to decay thallium into gold, it is not a realistic or feasible process. Thallium is a stable element and cannot naturally decay into gold. Even if it were possible, the amount of energy required would far exceed any potential gain from the gold produced.