I agree: artistic skills or jokes, a choice has to be made ;)
I like the idea of "Let's beam a big chunk of metal and see what comes through" ^^
Yes, this is how it works in practice, more or less (we can additionally use some electromagnetic fields to get rid of any other unwanted particles in our way).
If someone can have both, it's you ;)
It seems that you have put high hopes in me... Hmmm... I will therefore try not to disappoint you ;)