Alchemists believed that lead could be “perfected” into gold, that diseases could be cured, and that life could be prolonged through transmutation, or a change of some essential element into …

A transmutation can be achieved either by nuclear reactions (in which an outside particle reacts with a nucleus) or by radioactive decay, where no outside cause is needed.

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 …

Nuclear transmutation is the conversion of one chemical element into another. These particles are likely to have undergone several transmutations in their short lives.

Transmutations occur naturally through radioactive decay, or artificially by bombarding the nucleus of a substance with subatomic particles.

Furthermore, recall that all elements that have atomic numbers that are greater than 92 are synthesized through a second nuclear reaction, transmutation, in which a new radioisotope is …

Jan 7, 2026 · Understand the process of nuclear transmutation: how atomic identity is altered, distinguishing natural decay from engineered change, and its modern applications.