Such alterations to the nucleus of an atom are the subject of everyday "nuclear chemistry". In "regular" chemistry, the nuclei are never changed.
Nature produces atoms only up to uranium, Element 92. All of the "transuranics" are the product of nuclear chemistry. For example, Bob Lazar's "unumpentium" is simply moscovium, the element between flerovium and livermorium, which makes it seem much less like something to ooh and ahh about.
Lead and gold are very close, nuclear chemistry-wise. Lead is defined by having 82 protons while gold has 79 protons. If you somehow knock three protons off a lead nucleus, you've got gold. The only reason they don't just "manufacture" gold is because it takes a tremendous amount of energy to knock those protons off, far more than the resulting gold could ever be worth.
Such alterations to the nucleus of an atom are the subject of everyday "nuclear chemistry". In "regular" chemistry, the nuclei are never changed.
Nature produces atoms only up to uranium, Element 92. All of the "transuranics" are the product of nuclear chemistry. For example, Bob Lazar's "unumpentium" is simply moscovium, the element between flerovium and livermorium, which makes it seem much less like something to ooh and ahh about.
Lead and gold are very close, nuclear chemistry-wise. Lead is defined by having 82 protons while gold has 79 protons. If you somehow knock three protons off a lead nucleus, you've got gold. The only reason they don't just "manufacture" gold is because it takes a tremendous amount of energy to knock those protons off, far more than the resulting gold could ever be worth.