Science Facts: Gold to Lead

Turning gold into lead is possible with the right equipment:  a gold atom has 79 protons and a lead atom has 82, so once a few neutrons in a gold atom are converted to protons through beta decay, the alchemy is a done deal. This would most likely be accomplished by bombarding the gold with neutrons. At the moment, though, this process is more expensive than turning gold into lead isn't worth.