International News
Alchemy! For just a split second, lead turned into gold
In a breakthrough that would make medieval alchemists envious, scientists at Europe’s Large Hadron Collider have successfully transformed lead into gold, producing 89,000 atoms per second.
The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is a giant particle accelerator that smashes atoms together at super-high speeds. Scientists there have found a way to knock three tiny particles called protons out of lead atoms, turning them into gold atoms.
The team behind this discovery, called the ALICE collaboration, used a unique way to create gold. Instead of crashing lead atoms head-on, they looked at what happens when the atoms just barely miss each other. Researchers explained that when this happens, powerful electromagnetic fields around the atoms can cause them to change into different elements.
During one period of experiments from 2015 to 2018, the scientists created about 86 billion gold atoms. That sounds like a lot, but when you add up all that gold, scientists said it only weighs about 29 picograms (10⁻¹⁵ kilogram), which is less than a trillionth of a gram. You’d need trillions of times more to make even a tiny piece of jewelry.
The machine can create about 89,000 gold atoms every second, but each atom only exists for a tiny fraction of a second before breaking apart. Recent upgrades to the machine have almost doubled the amount of gold it can make, but it’s still far from practical use.
International News
US Jewellery Companies Continued To Shrink In The Third Quarter:JBT
During Q3, Business Closures Dropped To 116 Compared To 126 In The Prior Year’s Third Quarter, Driven By 88 General Operational Cessations, 28 Acquisitions Or Mergers, and Zero Bankruptcies.
The number of active US jewelry companies continued to shrink in the third quarter, but at a slower pace than a year ago, according to the latest data from the Jewelers Board of Trade (JBT).The US jewelry industry continued its structural consolidation through Q3, though the pace of business closures showed signs of stabilizing compared to the previous year. Data from the Jewelers Board of Trade (JBT) reflects ongoing consolidation across retail, wholesale, and manufacturing, coupled with heightened credit volatility.
Key Data & Metrics
Nationwide, the active business footprint stands at 21,831 companies, reflecting a 1.4% year-over-year decline. During Q3, business closures dropped to 116 compared to 126 in the prior year’s third quarter, driven by 88 general operational cessations, 28 acquisitions or mergers, and zero bankruptcies. Meanwhile, new market entrants also slowed, with 67 new business openings recorded in Q3 down from 89 during the same period last year.
Sector-by-Sector Breakdown
| Sector | Active Count | YoY Change | Impact Summary |
| Retailers | 16,564 | -1.5% | Makes up the majority of the sector; experienced the largest net store count reduction. |
| Manufacturers | 2,061 | -1.7% | Steepest percentage decline among all segments. |
| Wholesalers | 3,206 | -0.9% | Relatively stable, holding the mildest contraction rate. |
Credit & Financial Health Trends
The JBT report highlights dynamic shifts in creditworthiness across US and Canadian businesses, signaling bifurcated financial health:
- Credit Downgrades: Jumped sharply to 1,655 (up from 620 in Q3 of the prior year).
- Credit Upgrades: Rose significantly to 1,480 (up from 551 in Q3 of the prior year).
While net business closures are tapering off, high numbers of simultaneous upgrades and downgrades point to a split market where resilient operators are strengthening their positions while vulnerable businesses face tighter financial pressures.
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