At 12 years old, Jackson Oswalt, set the Guinness record as youngest person to build a working fusion reactor, beating the previous record by 2 years. With a table top assembly of very complicated components he designed, built, and assembled himself, he combined two atoms of deuterium, hydrogen with one neutron, into a single Helium – 3 atom and an extra neutron. In a large scale system, Jackson said these extra neutrons would be able to heat up water to operate a steam power plant which in turn would generate electricity.
Now 15, Jackson appears in a YouTube video showing his reactor and explaining how his design came to life. It’s well worth watching.
When I was 12, I built lots of things with my Gilbert Erector Set, and when my children were 12, they fed their creativity with Legos. This young man is way ahead of those things. As an engineer, I was definitely impressed with his knowledge of nuclear fusion and his ability to make his idea actually operate as required. I have a great many wonderful memories of what I built with my Erector set, however, I don’t think any of my creations would have won a Guinness award. – Dr. Tom
