Oct 24, 2026·2 min read·Graded Spanish · word-by-word audio
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Marathon Fusion es una empresa estadounidense joven. Tiene su sede en San Francisco y se dedica a la energía de fusión nuclear. Fue fundada en 2023 por Kyle Schiller y Adam Rutkowski, un antiguo ingeniero de SpaceX. Su objetivo principal no es producir oro, sino desarrollar sistemas de combustible para futuras centrales de fusión. Esta tecnología quiere reproducir en la Tierra el mismo proceso que alimenta al Sol. Sin embargo, la empresa acaba de anunciar algo sorprendente: asegura haber convertido mercurio en oro estable.
El anuncio todavía no ha sido verificado de forma independiente. Este detalle es clave antes de aceptar una afirmación que podría tener consecuencias directas en el mercado de los metales preciosos. El temor no es pequeño: que el oro producido en laboratorio termine provocando una revolución similar a la que los diamantes sintéticos provocaron en la industria de las piedras preciosas. Entre los inversores de Marathon Fusion aparecen Breakthrough Energy, la red impulsada por Bill Gates, y Anglo American, el gigante minero propietario de De Beers.
En 2025, el CERN informó de que el Gran Colisionador de Hadrones había logrado producir una cantidad mínima de oro a partir de plomo. Marathon Fusion dice que su método multiplica por diez la cantidad obtenida. Si el anuncio se confirma, el mercado del oro podría cambiar para siempre. Por ahora, los expertos piden calma y esperan más pruebas. La historia de la alquimia, el sueño de convertir metales en oro, vuelve a estar de actualidad.
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Watch out, English speaker
Spanish uses "no... sino..." to mean "not... but rather...", where "sino" introduces the corrected element. English speakers often mistakenly use "pero" (but) instead of "sino", or forget to negate the first part. Remember: "sino" is only used when the first clause is negative and the second clause contrasts with it.
Spanish "asegurar haber + past participle" expresses a claim that an action has been completed. English speakers might try to use a present tense or a different structure, but in Spanish, the infinitive "haber + participle" is required after "asegurar" to convey "claims to have done." Avoid using "que" + finite verb unless you mean "claims that someone else did."
Key vocabulary
mercuriom.
mercury (the metal)
“Asegura haber convertido mercurio en oro estable.”— It claims to have converted mercury into stable gold.
Pattern bombardear mercurio con neutrones — bombard mercury with neutrons
Compare azogue — mercury (archaic)
Plural: mercurios
💡 Chemical element Hg, a liquid metal at room temperature, and the raw material alchemists tried to turn into gold.
fusiónf.
fusion; merging
“Se dedica a la energía de fusión nuclear.”— It focuses on nuclear fusion energy.
Pattern energía de fusión nuclear — nuclear fusion energy
Compare unión — union
Plural: fusiones
💡 fusión nuclear refers to light atomic nuclei combining and releasing energy, as opposed to fisión (fission).
sedef.
headquarters, seat
“Tiene su sede en San Francisco.”— It is headquartered in San Francisco.
Pattern tener su sede en — to be headquartered in
Compare central — center
Plural: sedes
💡 Often used for the headquarters of companies and institutions, e.g. la sede de la ONU (the UN headquarters).
verificarv.
to verify, to check
“El anuncio todavía no ha sido verificado de forma independiente.”— The announcement has not yet been independently verified.
Pattern verificar de forma independiente — to verify independently
Compare comprobar — to confirm
yo verifico, tú verificas, él verifica; past participle: verificado
💡 The root ver- means 'true'; related word verdad (truth).
isótopom.
isotope
“Transforma el metal en un isótopo inestable.”— It transforms the metal into an unstable isotope.
Pattern isótopo inestable — unstable isotope
Plural: isótopos
💡 iso- (same) + topo (place), referring to atoms with the same number of protons but different numbers of neutrons.
alquimiaf.
alchemy
“La historia de la alquimia vuelve a estar de actualidad.”— The history of alchemy is back in the news.
Pattern la historia de la alquimia — the history of alchemy
Plural: alquimias
💡 From Arabic al-kīmiyā, the predecessor of chemistry, which sought to turn base metals into gold.
preciosoadj.
precious, valuable
“Podría tener consecuencias en el mercado de los metales preciosos.”— It could have consequences for the precious metals market.
Pattern metales preciosos — precious metals
Compare valioso — valuable
Feminine: preciosa; plural: preciosos/preciosas
💡 Note the difference from precio (price); precioso means 'precious'.
bombardearv.
to bombard
“Consiste en bombardear mercurio con neutrones.”— It consists of bombarding mercury with neutrons.
Pattern bombardear con neutrones — to bombard with neutrons
Compare atacar — to attack
yo bombardeo, tú bombardeas, él bombardea
💡 Originally meaning military bombing; in science it is extended to mean 'to bombard with particles'.
récordm.
record
“Ha superado el récord del CERN.”— It has surpassed CERN's record.
Pattern superar el récord — to break the record
Compare marca — mark
Plural: récords
💡 Borrowed from English record; Spanish keeps the accent mark.
inversorm.
investor
“Entre los inversores aparecen Breakthrough Energy y Anglo American.”— Among the investors are Breakthrough Energy and Anglo American.
Pattern inversores de la empresa — the company's investors
Used to negate the first item and affirm the second; sino is followed by an element parallel to the negated part.
“Su objetivo principal no es producir oro, sino desarrollar sistemas de combustible.”— Its main goal is not to produce gold, but to develop fuel systems.
⚠️ Do not write 'no... pero...'; sino cannot be replaced by pero.
asegurar haber + past participle (claim to have done something)
B1
Asegurar followed by a perfect infinitive (haber + past participle) indicates that the claimed action has been completed.
“Asegura haber convertido mercurio en oro estable.”— It claims to have converted mercury into stable gold.
⚠️ Do not write 'asegura que ha convertido' although it is also correct, the haber structure is more compact; note that haber does not change form.
Sentence patterns to steal
Su objetivo principal no es producir oro, sino desarrollar sistemas de combustible para futuras centrales de fusión.
Its main goal is not to produce gold, but to develop fuel systems for future fusion power plants.
no es + infinitive + sino + infinitiveReplace the two infinitive phrases to express 'not... but...'
El anuncio todavía no ha sido verificado de forma independiente.
The announcement has not yet been independently verified.
todavía no + present perfectReplace the subject and past participle to express 'not yet completed'
Si el anuncio se confirma, el mercado del oro podría cambiar para siempre.
If the announcement is confirmed, the gold market could change forever.
Si + present tense, + conditionalReplace the condition clause and main clause to express a hypothetical result
La historia de la alquimia, el sueño de convertir metales en oro, vuelve a estar de actualidad.
The history of alchemy—the dream of turning metals into gold—is back in the news.
volver a + infinitiveReplace the infinitive to express 'to do something again'
Alchemy and Science
Alchemy was a medieval practice that sought to turn base metals into gold, and it is also the predecessor of modern chemistry. Although alchemists never achieved this dream, their experimental methods laid the foundation for chemistry. Today, scientists can actually produce trace amounts of gold using particle accelerators, but the cost is extremely high and has no practical economic value.