Scientists find lead really can be turned into gold (with help from the Large Hadron Collider)

Scientists at CERN have achieved a remarkable milestone by converting lead into gold using the LHC—only for a fraction of a second. By colliding lead ions at extreme speeds, they observed rare instances where lead atoms lost just enough protons to become gold, though only tiny amounts (29 picograms) were produced, far too small for jewelry but significant in exploring nuclear transmutation. Upgrades to the LHC have doubled this yield slightly. Marco Van Leeuwen notes that their detectors are adept at handling both high-energy collisions and rare events, enabling deeper studies of particle interactions.