What would change an atom into a different element?

Changing the number of protons in the nucleus of an atom would change it into an atom of a different element.

How can we change one element into another?

transmutation, conversion of one chemical element into another. A transmutation entails a change in the structure of atomic nuclei and hence may be induced by a nuclear reaction (q.v.), such as neutron capture, or occur spontaneously by radioactive decay, such as alpha decay and beta decay (qq. v.).

Can an atom lose protons?

Alpha decay is the only way in which an atom will spontaneously lose protons. An alpha particle consists of two protons and two neutrons. It is essentially the nucleus of a helium atom. After an atom undergoes an alpha emission, it has two fewer protons and becomes an atom of a different element.

Can you turn lead to gold?

But what of the fabled transmutation of lead to gold? It is indeed possible—all you need is a particle accelerator, a vast supply of energy and an extremely low expectation of how much gold you will end up with.

Do atoms exist in space?

Atoms are not mostly empty space because there is no such thing as purely empty space. Rather, space is filled with a wide variety of particles and fields. Even if we ignore every kind of field and particle except electrons, protons and neutrons, we find that atoms are still not empty. Atoms are filled with electrons.

Can atoms decay?

Atoms don’t age. Atoms radioactively decay when a lower-energy nuclear configuration exists to which they can transition. The actual decay event of an individual atom happens randomly and is not the result of the atom getting old or changing through time. Artistic illustration of radioactive beta decay.

Can atoms gain electrons?

Atoms and chemical species lose or gain electrons when they react in order to gain stability. Thus, typically, metals (with nearly empty outer shells) lose electrons to non-metals, thereby forming positive ions.

Can I make gold?

Gold is the chemical element with 79 protons in each atomic nucleus. Every atom containing 79 protons is a gold atom, and all gold atoms behave the same chemically. Adding or removing protons from a nucleus are types of nuclear reactions. As such, no series of chemical reactions can ever create gold.

Can atoms be changed into different types of atoms?

I think it has been well established that one type of atom can be changed into another using a particle accelerator or a reactor. This is how atoms of the synthetic elements (above Z=92) are produced. Atoms also do it quite naturally. It’s called radioactivity.

How can one element be changed into another?

Temperatures of thousands of degrees and pressures of hundreds of thousands of atmospheres fail to rearrange the atomic nucleus. One element cannot be changed into another in this way. But it can be done by the methods of a new science called nuclear chemistry.

How do chemists change elements into compounds?

Changing an element into another involves rearranging its atomic nuclei to alter their charge. To bring about chemical processes chemists make use of high temperatures and pressures and of catalysts, substances which accelerate reactions when added in small amounts.

Can an element be made by a nuclear reaction?

Only by nuclear reactions such as radioactivity, fusion and fission. Yes, in a nuclear reaction. It is the “atomic number,” the number of protons in the nucleus, that defines an atom’s element: a gold atom has 79 protons, a mercury atom has 80, a thallium atom has 81, a lead atom has 82, and so on starting from hydrogem, whose atoms have 1.