The alchemist typically works alone or in secret, so the process of turning lead into gold is not often observed by others. It is a closely guarded secret known only to a select few.
No, Santiago does not turn lead into gold in "The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho. Santiago is a shepherd on a journey to find his Personal Legend, not an alchemist.
They tried to turn lead into gold, and to create the philosopher's stone.
The practice of attempting to turn lead into gold is known as alchemy. It was pursued by alchemists in medieval times in the belief that it was achievable through a process called transmutation. One famous alchemist who sought to achieve this was the Swiss physician and alchemist, Paracelsus.
Transmutation of lead into gold isn't just theoretically possible - it has been achieved! There are reports that Glenn Seaborg, 1951 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, succeeded in transmuting a minute quantity of lead (possibly en route from bismuth, in 1980) into gold.
People who practiced alchemy wished to turn lead into gold.
turn stuff into goldAlchemists tried to make gold from other non-gold metals, lead in particular. These tries turned out to teach us a lot about chemistry.
Alchemists in the Middle Ages and Renaissance attempted to transform base metals like lead into gold through a process called transmutation. Their efforts were fueled by the belief that achieving this transformation would lead to great wealth and wisdom. However, these attempts were unsuccessful as gold cannot be created from other elements using alchemical methods.
Lead and gold are both elements. That is, they are already in their simplest form. It is not possible to convert one to the other by any chemical means. Alchemist used to try to do this. But lead has been converted into gold in the physics lab by nuclear means. The results are radioactive, but it was done on a small scale as an exercise to realize the long-sought alchemists' dream. But only that. It's not a safe and cost effective way to obtain gold.
No. No matter how they tried it hasn't been done.
The Philosopher's Stone enabling the owner to turn base metals into gold .
Sell it, buy gold for the money. Technically is impossible to obtain gold from lead.
The term for a person who can transform base metal into gold is an alchemist. In ancient times, alchemists sought to find the Philosopher's Stone, a legendary substance believed to have the power to transmute metals.