Unbelievable Mankind's Delusio

Rumors about red mercury - a substance supposedly synthesized by the Soviet defense using recipes from medieval alchemists, appeared back in the 70s of the twentieth century. Since then, intelligence agencies from different countries, as well as terrorists tirelessly hunt for a multifunctional catalyst, or RM-20/20 - this is the official name for red mercury.
However, all attempts to get this curiosity remain unsuccessful. Why? Perhaps because her ... simply does not exist. And the rumor about its existence is just a myth, a specially supported delusion? Let's try to figure it out ...
It all started with the fact that forty-odd years ago mean information leaked into the world press that a multifunctional toxic and radioactive catalyst was synthesized in the bowels of the Soviet military-industrial complex, which has almost fabulous properties. And with its help, Soviet experts developed a number of devices for unique types of weapons.
In particular, red mercury, they say, is present both in the super-detonator of the thermonuclear bomb and in high-power lasers capable of hitting ground targets from orbit. Without RM-20/20, the use of such weapons is impossible in principle - red mercury is its main component.
Moreover, with the help of red mercury it is possible to carry out transmutation, that is, to extract gold, say, from lead, as medieval alchemists tried to carry out. Of course, today there are known methods for producing some chemical elements from others, for example, using accelerators. However, the same gold obtained in this way is so expensive that the sheepskin is not worth the candle. But the same alchemists had no accelerators at their disposal. And they tried to influence the substance not by physical, but by chemical methods. Moreover, from the time of the Middle Ages several stories have been preserved that from time to time such experiments brought good luck.
Thus, the Spanish alchemist Raymond Lullius pledged to produce 27 tons of mercury, tin and lead gold for the English king Edward III. And he really made coins - the so-called nobles, which to this day can be seen in museums around the world. True, some experts say that Lullius simply deceived the king by covering the lead with a gold mercury amalgam. But then you have to admit that the fake turned out to be extremely successful, because, according to historians, the king then paid the costs of the war with France with this gold for 30 years.
In addition, judging by the legacy left, the philosopher and writer, the author of 300 works, the inventor of the logical machine, the forerunner of the computer, Raymond Lulli somehow does not fit into the gallery of scammers. Nevertheless, he left behind him a curious recipe for converting mercury into gold using the "red lion," or "philosopher's stone."
"Take a bite-sized piece of this precious medicine," he wrote. - Throw it in 1000 ounces of mercury, the latter will turn into red powder. Add an ounce of this powder to another 1000 ounces of mercury, and it turns into a red powder. If you take one ounce from this powder and drop it again into 1000 ounces, everything will turn into a medicine. And throw an ounce of this medicine into new 12,000 ounces of mercury, and it will turn into gold, better than mine "... Moreover, the alchemist further noted that the" philosopher's stone "itself is quite cheap and is found everywhere.
The idea of ​​the existence of a certain magic powder did not leave some of the researchers in later times. About thirty years ago, I came across a story about how in one of the "scarabs" of the Stalin era one of the prisoners pushed to get gold from a mixture of lithium and lead, placing them in a powerful electromagnetic field ...