this post was submitted on 27 Jul 2025
178 points (91.2% liked)

Technology

73416 readers
4257 users here now

This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.

Our Rules

  1. Follow the lemmy.world rules.
  2. Only tech related news or articles.
  3. Be excellent to each other!
  4. Mod approved content bots can post up to 10 articles per day.
  5. Threads asking for personal tech support may be deleted.
  6. Politics threads may be removed.
  7. No memes allowed as posts, OK to post as comments.
  8. Only approved bots from the list below, this includes using AI responses and summaries. To ask if your bot can be added please contact a mod.
  9. Check for duplicates before posting, duplicates may be removed
  10. Accounts 7 days and younger will have their posts automatically removed.

Approved Bots

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
L3s@lemmy.world
enu@lemmy.world
technopagan@lemmy.world
L4s@lemmy.world
L3s@hackingne.ws
L4s@hackingne.ws
178
Startup Claims Its Fusion Reactor Concept Can Turn Cheap Mercury Into Gold (gizmodo.com)
submitted 3 days ago by UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world to c/technology@lemmy.world
80 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

Last week, Marathon Fusion, a San Francisco-based energy startup, submitted a preprint detailing an action plan for synthesizing gold particles via nuclear transmutation—essentially the process of turning one element into another by tweaking its nucleus. The paper, which has yet to undergo peer review, argues that the proposed system would offer a new revenue stream from all the new gold being produced, in addition to other economic and technological benefits.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] LovableSidekick@lemmy.world 9 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (3 children)

When they can do transparent aluminum, I'm in!

edit: yes I know there's a ceramic material called ALON, which the manufacturer calls transparent aluminum because it contains aluminum oxynitride, but I don't think that's what Scotty meant. ALON is about 30-35% aluminum, same as the amount of lead in leaded crystal glass, which isn't "transparent lead".

[–] Faceman2K23@discuss.tchncs.de 6 points 2 days ago

Aluminium Oxide (Al~2~O~3~) can be crystal clear too, it's just Sapphire, I have a chunk of it on my wrist right now, looks pretty clear to me, and almost as hard as a diamond.

[–] partial_accumen@lemmy.world 4 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Transparent aluminum was around in 2018 source

[–] Faceman2K23@discuss.tchncs.de 4 points 2 days ago

a lot longer than that.

Synthetic corundum, spinel and others have been around for over 120 years, and optically transparent uncoloured sapphire glass for over 80 years. They are just aluminium oxides.

ALON is just the new hotness, and not as good as some others in terms of visible light transparency.