MARATHON FUSION: FUSION TECHNOLOGY COULD TURN MERCURY INTO GOLD
Marathon Fusion, a U.S. fusion energy startup, is pursuing technology that uses neutrons produced by fusion reactions to turn mercury into gold.
According to the company’s research, the mercury-198 isotope could absorb high-energy neutrons, becoming radioactive mercury-197, which then decays into stable gold-197. The team’s simulations estimate that a fusion power plant could produce a significant amount of gold each year.
The company is also developing plasma centrifuge technology to separate isotopes for use in the fusion fuel cycle.
However, it is important to distinguish simulation results from real-world experiments. The gold-production method described above still needs independent verification; the cost of isotope enrichment, handling radioactive products, and the feasibility of commercial deployment remain major challenges.
Physically, it is possible to turn one element into another through nuclear reactions. But turning that into an economically viable gold-production process is an entirely different matter.
$ZEC $ALT $AVA
Marathon Fusion, a U.S. fusion energy startup, is pursuing technology that uses neutrons produced by fusion reactions to turn mercury into gold.
According to the company’s research, the mercury-198 isotope could absorb high-energy neutrons, becoming radioactive mercury-197, which then decays into stable gold-197. The team’s simulations estimate that a fusion power plant could produce a significant amount of gold each year.
The company is also developing plasma centrifuge technology to separate isotopes for use in the fusion fuel cycle.
However, it is important to distinguish simulation results from real-world experiments. The gold-production method described above still needs independent verification; the cost of isotope enrichment, handling radioactive products, and the feasibility of commercial deployment remain major challenges.
Physically, it is possible to turn one element into another through nuclear reactions. But turning that into an economically viable gold-production process is an entirely different matter.
$ZEC $ALT $AVA