Scientists at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) have achieved something once thought impossible: turning lead into gold. However, this achievement is highly limited and unlikely to result in commercially available gold.
CERN used its Large Hadron Collider, the world’s largest particle accelerator, to create gold by removing three protons from lead’s nucleus. This process, which involves bombarding elements with neutrons or protons, was previously unknown as a method for creating gold.
The resulting 86 billion gold nuclei would only amount to trillions of times less than what is required to make a piece of jewelry. CERN’s discovery is not meant to be commercially viable and serves as a significant breakthrough in nuclear physics research rather than a means of producing valuable gold.
Source: https://www.jckonline.com/editorial-article/scientists-turn-lead-into-gold