Question

In order to make an element from another element, what would you need to do? For example, how could you make a zinc atom from a copper atom?

Answer 1

I don't think that is possible? Is this your own question, or one from a textbook? If a textbook, read the pages in the chapter of the question. Otherwise, your guess is as good as mine, becasue I don't think that that is possible.

Answer 2

Yes, it is possible. Alchemists (those guys of long ago) dreamed of procedures to change one element into another; specifically they wanted to change base metals (like lead into gold. They never found the process to do that but modern man has. Adding a neutron to an element sometimes makes the nucleus of that element unstable (shown below is the intermediate in brackets) and it emits an electron. That makes a new element of atomic weight 1 more than that with which we started.
₂₉Cu⁶⁴ + ₀N¹ ===>[₂₉Cu⁶⁵] ==>₃₀Zn⁶⁵

I hope I got the formatting correct.

Answer 3

I got the formatting correct but omitted one of the products. In addition to the 30Zn^65, there is an electron emitted. That will be _-1e<sup>o<sup/>

Answer 4

That's _-1e^o