Setting a world record for nuclear fission seems pretty daunting; setting a record for achieving this feat from your living room –age 12– is extraordinary. But that’s just what happened as a young man from Memphis, Tennessee built and successfully used a fusor in his playroom. The experiment garnered national attention from the world-record tracking organization due to the then-tween’s remarkably young age.

Through research online, Jackson Oswalt learned about self-taught nuclear physicist Taylor Wilson. Inspired, he decided he wanted to try to build his own small, working fusor. Though Oswalt was never certain he could safely and successfully complete his goal, he secured permission from his family to try. His dad admits jokingly, “We didn’t know enough to have reservations, to be honest.”

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Immediately before his 13th birthday, Popular Mechanics reported, Oswalt effectively fused together two deuterium atoms: mission accomplished! This achievement made him the youngest person to achieve nuclear fusion, and earned him a Guinness World record, as well as a feature in the 2021 edition of their annual book publication. As Oswalt explained in a video for the organization, "I’ve been able to use electricity to accelerate two atoms of deuterium together so they fuse into an atom of helium-3 and also release a neutron, which can be used to heat up water and turn a steam engine, which in turn produces electricity."

Nothing about nuclear fusion is simple, but neighbors can take comfort that experiments on this scale are safe. Fusors like the one Oswalt built used "far more energy than they replace…[it can’t] be a power source unless it well exceeds the energy required to reach and sustain fusion." Oswalt confirms as much in his demo, “I won’t be doing full-on fusion, but I’ll still be creating a plasma.” He noted that the most complicated aspect of his efforts was creating an effective airtight seal for the chamber, and that process took about six months to perfect.

Though his success is gaining Guinness publicity now, Oswalt’s big accomplishment actually occurred a few years back. Between the pandemic and the normal focuses of high school life, Oswalt, 15, is not currently practicing any fusion experiments. He told Guinness he’s looking for his “next best thing.” Parents of junior scientists should note that science is great for earning potential and not just in the future. Other young Guinness honorees for fusion have earned up to $75,000 in college scholarships. Safe experimentation at home can lead to big – electric! – results.

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Source: Popular Mechanics