Claim of gold production from mercury by Marathon Fusion
US-based Marathon Fusion claims to have produced stable gold from mercury using nuclear fusion reactions. While the company asserts that the method surpasses CERN's previous record, the claims have not yet been verified by independent scientific data.
San Francisco-based fusion energy startup Marathon Fusion announced that it succeeded in producing stable gold from mercury using neutrons obtained from nuclear fusion reactions in experiments conducted in September.
According to the company's statement, the process works by directing high-energy neutrons released during fusion reactions at the mercury-198 isotope. This process results in the formation of radioactive mercury-197, which then decays into gold-197. Marathon Fusion claimed that the production rate achieved with this method is 10 times the record set by the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) in 2025.
Assessment: The company has not yet shared critical data such as the total amount of gold obtained, the degree of purity, and the production cost with the public. As these claims have not been verified by independent scientific studies or peer-reviewed publications, they do not carry certainty at the current stage.
Sources
- ekonomi.haber7.com · Link