Turning Iron Ore Into Platinum Imitator

The Bulletin reported a researcher at Princeton has found a way to change iron ore so that it acts more like platinum in modern-day applications of ancient alchemy.

As quoted in the market news:

In a lab in Princeton University’s ultra-sleek chemistry building, researchers toil in a modern-day hunt for an elusive power: alchemy.

Throughout the centuries, alchemists tried in vain to transform common metals like iron and lead into precious ones like gold or platinum. Today, Paul Chirik, a professor of chemistry at Princeton, has managed a new twist on the timeworn pursuit.

Chirik, 39, has learned how to make iron function like platinum, in chemical reactions that are crucial to manufacturing scores of basic materials. While he can’t, sadly, transmute a lump of iron ore into a pile of valuable jewelry, his version of alchemy is far more practical, and the implications are wide-ranging.

Click here to read the full Bulletin report.