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> Lead has indeed been converted to gold Seaborg did it in 1980 but with bismuth. “It would cost more than one quadrillion dollars per ounce to produce gold t
by TedDoesntTalk 4y ago
> Lead has indeed been converted to gold
Seaborg did it in 1980 but with bismuth.
“It would cost more than one quadrillion dollars per ounce to produce gold this way.” And that’s in 1980 dollars :)
https://youtu.be/dpBwlcUZZRI https://youtu.be/dpBwlcUZZRI
- system2 4y agoAt least we know we can come up with more gold if we deplete the planet one day.
- irrational 4y agoBut only Uncle Scrooge will be able to afford it.
- sulam 4y agoMoney is an artificial construct. If it’s worth doing, it will be affordable to those who get value out of it.
- jchw 4y agoMoney is made up, but cost is real. It's not the dollar value that matters here.
- v4dok 4y agoUltimately it's energy. And as long as the output is valued enough, we would put the energy there. It would be a terribly inefficient/poor world but it could be done. Unless we have so much energy available that the cost is negligible.
- jchw 4y agoEnergy is finite, and without some form of subsidy this kind of use case has to compete directly with everything else that we use energy for. Production of usable energy is not free...
- andrewflnr 4y agoThis is a very optimistic take on the efficient market hypothesis, and not one that's well supported by the evidence IMO.
- antonvs 4y agoThis is like saying that miles are an artificial construct. The problem is that distance is not. Or in pop-Zen terms, don’t mistake the finger for the moon.