"And they are not truly achieving the alchemists' dream of transmutation, just changing the behavior of the material."
Is there really a difference? Isn't the name we give a material essentially just a shorthand for describing a pattern of behavior that its constituent particles are (mostly) adhering to?
Speaking of which, did Seaborg collect any of the gold atoms he transmuted? Obviously it wouldn't be enough to see, but I imagine that some university museum has a little vial with a chunk of detector in it with a little plate explaining that there are a few million transmuted gold atoms stuck to its surface, or something.
Is there really a difference? Isn't the name we give a material essentially just a shorthand for describing a pattern of behavior that its constituent particles are (mostly) adhering to?