The Future of Gold

One of my favorite TV-shows for this summer was Bering Sea Gold. A show about dredgers hunting for gold in the Bering Sea during the summer. Whilst watching the show, I couldn't stop wondering what the future of gold mining would be and what kind of documentaries about gold hunting would we see in the future. After doing some research, I found two areas where gold mining may become popular in. Space and nuclear transmutation.

Mining celestial bodies such as asteroids, moons and other planets for rare elements is slowly becoming a reality. Companies like Planetary Resources are working on designing and constructing different spacecrafts to examine and mine asteroids. Other companies are working on creating cheaper methods for leaving Earth (such as the space elevator).

Turning lead into gold, transmuting it, was thought to be no more than Alchemy, fiction. However, in the twentieth century, it was proven that certain isotopes of certain elements, like Mercury 196, can be turned into gold in a nuclear reactor. This process is called Nuclear Transmutation. As new technologies for radiation safety and energy systems develops, we can expect nuclear reactors to become smaller, cheaper and easier to make for people who want to make one at home (DIY nuclear reactors).

In theory, we might see TV-shows about the challenges people undergo whilst trying to make a living by mining for or transmuting gold in the future.

Happy Birthday Star Trek!

On this day of 1966, the first episode of Star Trek was aired. Ever since that day, Star Trek has inspired hundreds of thousands. Happy Birthday and "Live Long and Prosper"!

Above: The original crew from The original series.