Evidence for the occurrence of LENR-type processes in alchemic transmutations

The relevance of experimental aspects of alchemy have been neglected for too long in the academic milieu, but in recent years more thoughtful studies of texts from the middle ages and early modern European alchemy evidence the presence of coherent and relevant laboratory practices. However, the central core of western alchemy, the quest for the Philosophers' Stone, the substance claimed to transmute base metals into gold, remains, needless to say, elusive. While no book will ever tell us how to prepare such substance, it is nevertheless also true that detailed reports on alchemic transmutations, often authored by witnesses of such events, can be found profusely in alchemic literature. These reports usually contain valuable information regarding quantitative aspects of the transmutation processes. Taking into account numerical parameters of alchemic transmutations such as the weights of starting base metal, gold and Philosophers' Stone, and the duration of the transmutation experiences, it has been found that the transmutation processes follow a specific pattern similar to that generally observed in conventional catalytic reactions. In the present work, several examples of alchemic practices and objects are reported that, taken as a whole, challenge our actual view on the constitution of matter. First, new data are presented which support the catalytic-like performance of the Philosophers' Stone. Indeed, such behaviour is consistent with the alchemic view on the evolution of metals, which conceives the transmutation as an acceleration of the ripening of base metals towards the more perfect gold which takes place in Nature by means of a slow maturation process inside the Earth's womb. Second, differences between the weight of the starting base metal and the weight of the gold (or silver) obtained at the end of the transmutation process are often noticed in the texts, but no satisfactory explanation for such observation has been given so far. Weight decreases are reported but, more surprisingly, weight increases are reported as well. Analysis of available data evidences a consistent weight variation pattern, which is a direct function of the difference in atomic number between the base and the noble metal. This correlation suggests that nuclear fusion/fission events would take place simultaneously in an appropriate balance during the process. The noble metal obtained from the transmutation experience, either silver or gold, was used in some cases to cast coins or medals to commemorate the event. Some of them are still preserved in several museum collections across Europe, waiting for a systematic series of physicochemical analyses to be carried out. Other pieces of noble metals of alchemic origin are described in alchemic literature, but descriptions of their chemical and/or physical properties are extremely scarce. One of the very few examples of such products has been recently brought to light. Robert Boyle reported the density of a certain piece of a metallic substance of alchemic origin to be 25. No metal with such extremely high density is actually known, but no experimental mistake on his side can account for this surprising result, as in the same text he accurately reported the density value of gold, namely 19. The consistency of this result with more recent reports of alchemic practices is discussed. It is believed that this new approach to study the alchemic experimental procedures not only would shed new light on the true nature of alchemy, but might be useful as well in exploring new avenues in the transformation of matter. (authors)