Not Your Typical Get Rich Quick Scheme

Alchemy Transmutation Mercury Gold Nuclear physics Elements Protons Get rich quick Atomic number

Chemistry Physics Science

2 days ago 5,222 views 0 shares

Not Your Typical Get Rich Quick Scheme

chemistry-memes, alchemy-memes, transmutation-memes, mercury-memes, gold-memes | ScienceHumor.io

The ultimate chemistry hack that would make your high school teacher have a breakdown! This meme hilariously suggests transmuting mercury into gold by simply removing one proton per atom. In reality, this is exactly what nuclear transmutation is - changing one element into another by altering the number of protons.

Mercury (atomic number 80) would indeed become gold (atomic number 79) if you could remove exactly one proton from each atom. The price difference (€100/kg vs €35,000/kg) would net you a tidy 350x profit! Just minor details like needing a particle accelerator, dealing with radioactive decay, and breaking several laws of physics standing in your way.

Medieval alchemists spent centuries trying to turn lead into gold, but this meme suggests doing it with plastic tweezers and a casual disregard for the laws of thermodynamics. The perfect get-rich-quick scheme... if you ignore literally everything about nuclear physics!

More Like This

Wait I Can Pass Through It?

Chemistry Physics Materials Science

1 month ago 5.7K views 0 shares

Wait I Can Pass Through It?

The hydrogen atom's shocked expression perfectly captures the bizarre reality of quantum tunneling. Hydrogen, being the smallest atom, can literally phase through platinum's crystal lattice structure like it's no big deal. While other elements politely wait outside, hydrogen just... walks through walls. Platinum catalysts exploit this quantum weirdness for all sorts of chemical reactions. It's basically the atomic version of discovering you have superpowers, except instead of celebrating, the hydrogen is just completely freaking out about violating classical physics.

You Did It! You Broke Noncompetitive Inhibition Down To Its Bare Essentials!

Chemistry Biology Science

2 months ago 9.7K views 0 shares

You Did It! You Broke Noncompetitive Inhibition Down To Its Bare Essentials!

The biochemistry professor has struck again! This power strip perfectly captures noncompetitive inhibition - where the substrate still desperately tries to bind to the active site, while the sneaky inhibitor molecule attaches to the allosteric site like that one person who keeps stealing your phone charger. The enzyme's shape changes just enough to make the substrate's binding less efficient, but doesn't completely block it. This is literally every biochem student's nightmare condensed into household electronics. The most elegant part? Just like real noncompetitive inhibition, both plugs can be inserted simultaneously, but the overall "reaction rate" (electricity flow) is reduced. Whoever labeled this power strip deserves a Nobel Prize in Educational Memes!

Sweet Mistake, Sweet Millions

Chemistry Science Medicine Research

1 month ago 6.2K views 0 shares

Sweet Mistake, Sweet Millions

The ultimate scientific plot twist! James Schlatter was just trying to cure stomach ulcers but accidentally created the sweetener that would fuel America's diet soda addiction. Talk about a finger-lickin' good mistake! While most scientists spend years trying to make groundbreaking discoveries, this dude just needed to skip washing his hands before turning a page. Next time your research advisor tells you to follow lab safety protocols, just remember—sometimes not washing your hands makes you a millionaire. Safety third, serendipity first!

Rings Of Desire: Chemistry Edition

Chemistry Science Academia

1 month ago 6.9K views 0 shares

Rings Of Desire: Chemistry Edition

The eternal struggle of a chemist's love life—diamond engagement rings are just carbon atoms showing off, Audi rings are engineering atoms showing off, but benzene rings? That's just six carbon atoms keeping it real. Nothing says "I'm perpetually broke from student loans but intellectually rich" like appreciating the elegant simplicity of aromatic compounds. The perfect symbol of academic commitment: stable, resonant, and significantly cheaper than the alternatives.

Noble Gas, Noble Seating Arrangement

Chemistry Science

17 days ago 4.4K views 0 shares

Noble Gas, Noble Seating Arrangement

The genius here is that "1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6" is the electron configuration for Argon (Ar), an inert noble gas that doesn't like to bond with anything. Just like how these spectators are maintaining maximum distance from each other in the stadium! They've arranged themselves with perfect electron-like repulsion, occupying seats as far apart as possible. Chemistry students everywhere are nodding in appreciation at this perfect visualization of atomic behavior. The noble gases truly are the introverts of the periodic table.

The Electron Identity Crisis

Chemistry Physics Science

1 month ago 7.0K views 0 shares

The Electron Identity Crisis

The number of electrons in an atom equals... the number of electrons. Revolutionary stuff. Next up: water is made of water. This is the kind of circular reasoning that makes my lab supervisor stare blankly into the abyss for hours. It's like asking how many fingers you have and triumphantly answering "the same number as my fingers." Pure tautological brilliance that deserves its own Nobel Prize category.