Abstract
IN NATURE of March 29 last (pp. 459-460) we printed a communication by H. Nagaoka, Y. Sugiura, and T. Mishima “on the isotopes of mercury and bismuth revealed in the satellites of their spectral lines,” at the end of which the authors stated that “if the above assumption as to the mercury nucleus is valid, we can perhaps realise the dream of alchemists by striking out a hydrogen-proton from the nucleus by α-rays, or by some other powerful methods of disruption.” Following this statement, on July 21 the Morning Post reported from Berlin that Dr. A. Miethe, professor of photochemistry and astronomy in the Technical High School at Charlottenburg, had obtained gold from mercury by the prolonged action of a high-tension electric current upon it. In the absence of details, such a report could only be received with great reserve, for in the light of existing knowledge it seemed highly improbable that the amount of energy indicated to have been used would be sufficient to disrupt the mercury atom. An account of Prof. Miethe's work containing some definite experimental details is given in the issue of Die Naturwissenschaften for July 18, and we reproduce these in order that the claim advanced may be justly assessed.
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The Reported Transmutation of Mercury into Gold. Nature 114, 197–198 (1924). https://doi.org/10.1038/114197a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/114197a0