Where does gold come from? - David Lunney
Video Overview & Insights
View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/where-does-gold-come-from-david-lunney
blimey, anyone from 2026
Did you know that gold is extraterrestrial? Instead of arising from our planet’s rocky crust, it was actually cooked up in space and is present on Earth because of cataclysmic stellar explosions called supernovae. CERN Scientist David Lunney outlines the incredible journey of gold from space to Earth.
Lesson by David Lunney, animation by Andrew Foerster.
This video provides such an incredible perspective on how gold is essentially cosmic "stardust" created by the violent death of stars. I had no idea that all the gold on Earth was cooked up in seconds during cataclysmic supernova explosions rather than slowly forming in our planet's crust. The process of rapid neutron capture in those collapsing cores is a brilliant explanation for why these heavy elements are so incredibly rare.
It is wild to think that we technically can synthesize gold in a particle accelerator, but the energy cost is so astronomical that it makes the current price of gold look like pocket change. Your overview of the future possibilities, like mining asteroids or extracting it from our oceans, paints such an exciting picture of what human ingenuity might achieve centuries from now. This was truly a mind-blowing lesson on why we are so fundamentally connected to the universe.
More User Perspectives
Ted slop. Neutron star mergers produce gold. Only very small amounts from supernovae.
@nialldoyle8206🤲إن شاء الله ربي يحفظك و يزيدك علم🤲
@ahmedhamza4510💯
@ahmedhamza4510❤❤❤❤❤
@ahmedhamza4510Very colorful. New stars??? Care to identify just one?
@ytthiemeYou forgot to mention that there is enough gold in the center of the earth to replace the ocean water with it, Rendering gold worthless.
@JosephBeno-y1zjust use mercury
@Matthewo-x8w😂😂😂😂
@Loyalty4Life-m7wYou do understand, that although presented as fact, all this is conjecture.
@jeffreylonigro4081It's all Parker Schnabel's gold.
@Bob-HayThis is it correct. Supernovae are not energetic enough to create gold! You need a much rarer event: a Neutron Star collision
@NadeemHameediGold was discovered what is now Mexico..why do u think Europe invaded the Americas 😅
@Miguel-x2lWrong. Most of the gold on earth came from two neutron stars colliding in a merger. That's all in the core where we cannot get it. Actually enough to cover the surface of the earth knew deep
All the gold we can get to is from bombardments later from asteroids.
3:38 100% not stolen is crazy 😂😂
@poophead27They cut my electricity because I am nobody.
@deejay.traderso cool
@Alexchannel-m9xMake new video pls
@VũHoàngLong-b4jSorry but gold didn’t come from the sky bro
@ShaneMiller-w8bGold's importance is rooted in its unique combination of scarcity, durability, and practical utility, making it a cornerstone of both global financial systems and modern technology. Unlike other assets, gold maintains intrinsic value across centuries because it does not corrode, is easily recognizable, and cannot be manufactured by governments.
@MONEYVSUS369🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆
@caddarikace6607If you add one more proton and three neutrons to gold you get Mercury , so the alchemists weren’t all that far off the mark with their experiments on cinnabar
@sheenapearse766Anyone in 2026
@abdurahiman88313:16 - Sound effects used for WoW professions
@Zharkan16Gold is created in Super Novas
@D5890WGood video ❤
@BlizzardLegendsVideos from back when youtube was normal
@adwaidh9690❤🎉BRILLIANTLY BEAUTIFUL WORK 😍 🤩 👌 ON THIS VIDEO ❤❤❤ Thank You.
I Just Luved Ever Single Side & Story ❤
I Can’t Believe Gold Comes From Space 😅
@ArjayMorrisThe universe
@michelles2299Neutron star collisions is the source of most gold not supernovas
@Hammerhead444So NO we cant creat gold . Unless you know the secret ! I know it by accident ! Yup
@Aaronbtc4Gold is over 4000 USD today / oz
@davicpetrovski155I'm too high to understand this right now.
@jaym9200Are u freaking crazy about our mother planet going disolve in a supernova
@_rajeshsardarSo many wrong info , terrible video.
@Tomarco70Don't and won't believe it
@JohnF-i7zWhat about platinum and silver?
@Dbodell8000🟢 So gold is actually dragon's blood... or was it giant's blood... maybe both... 🤠
@JeffreyNaughtET phone home .
@eugeneteo9664Supernovae. You're welcome.
@ThankGodFurDogsRegarding 3:20, In 1980, gold was successfully created by a team of scientists at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, California. They were Glenn T. Seaborg, Kjell Aleklett, David J. Morrissey and Walter D. Loveland who used a high energy nuclear particle accelerator known as the Bevalac which transformed the metal bismuth into gold. The process is known as “Chrysopoeia”.
@jadenephriteI made a 2.2lbs of gold yesterday I'm rich
@Brandongoheen-f3ythe metal main actor : IRON
@edelweisslandscapeIt’s fascinating how gold’s story mirrors our own — born in chaos, scattered through time, and forged under impossible pressure. Perhaps that’s why humanity has always seen value in it — because in its atomic memory lies the echo of our cosmic origin.
@systemr_aiwait, if gold is cooked up in supernova, and it is extra terestrial... then al of us are extraterestrial, including the terestrial. no?
@pym75Lol pysch-16
@RyanCaudle-e9xThe truth is gold comes from the GOLDEN GOOSE….nuff said.
@DennisTodaroso you cannot make gold
@NightJourney829