13 year old boy creates nuclear fusion at school!

I appeared to have hit enter prematurely, so i'll try again.

All the best school science experiments carry at least a hint of danger. But when 13-year-old Jamie Edwards informed his stunned headmaster of his plan to build a nuclear reactor in a classroom, the obvious question was: ‘Will it blow the school up?’

And yesterday he became the youngest person in the world to achieve nuclear fusion from scratch at his Lancashire secondary school, using high energy to smash two hydrogen atoms together to make helium.

Daily Mail

Now smashing two hydrogen atoms together might not seem like a big deal, but it was done on a budget of 3,000 pounds, and in a classroom to boot. And the knowledge that this young man possesses can only grow in time, and maybe in the years to come he could be one of many who finally makes the breakthrough when it comes to fusion power, the holy grail of energy provision.

I don't know about you, but it makes me wish I had paid more attention in school. And young Jamie doesn't plan on stopping there: His eyes are now set on building a particle accelerator!

I apologize for the stuff up, i'll update ASAP.

reply to post by Thecakeisalie


Well.... what to comment...

Words are occasionally helpful, words and links and well, just something more than a blank page.

And he blew up your post in the process!

Thecakeisalie

I take it from your post, YOU are that 13 year old boy and it backfired. LOL

reply to post by OpinionatedB


Yeah sorry about that, I hit enter and for some reason it posted. I guess I should be the last person to be let near a nuclear reactor.

reply to post by Thecakeisalie


don't worry about it
if it isn't that its double posting
thats why there is an edit button

maybe this kid could figure out what to do with nuclear waste

reply to post by Thecakeisalie


lol.... it happens...no worries

I just opened this thinking it would be a nice story and I was like uhhhh...



Smart kid though, I always like hearing about kids who will take us farther into the future technologically speaking.. kids like this will do that, hopefully toward better technology and better ways than now... safer someday.

Thecakeisalie
reply to post by OpinionatedB

 

Yeah sorry about that, I hit enter and for some reason it posted. I guess I should be the last person to be let near a nuclear reactor.

If I had a dollar for every time I hit the enter button prematurely... I could buy this kid his own mini reactor.

They should have an "Are You Sure" button that pops up after you hit enter. Anybody that has posted more then one thread has experienced this dreaded phenomenon.

The most interesting part is - detecting neutron, on left side. Good luck with that.
Changing it to detect helium is much much better and easier.

reply to post by Danbones


Yeah, kids like this will be able to do that someday, or better... figure out a new form of energy that doesn't have waste...

These young kids are often mentored by top scientists or backed by businesses. They're often smart kids who have exceptional skills and their project goal is assigned to them and they get to work with "industry mentors" or the people that know how to accomplish such project.

yeah but with that graphic, surely a scientist can do it now. He's let the cat out of the box.

Surely.

I mean, what next, school students are getting too smart for their own good.

reply to post by Thecakeisalie


I guess now he will be viewed as a domestic terror threat by government.

Now we ALL can be viewed as terrorists. I am going to try this at home.

Even though the post was messed up its still pretty cool hearing about a kid this smart.

reply to post by Thecakeisalie


Jamie is the youngest to attempt this, but he is certainly not the first.

Taylor Wilson (born May 7, 1994) is an American nuclear scientist and science advocate. In 2008, at age 14, he became the youngest person to produce nuclear fusion, using a fusor.

Source

That was six years ago now, and Taylor has moved onto bigger and better things, including a homemade radiation detector:

Checking his computer, Wilson was delighted to see that his detector had picked up brief emissions of light. The detector worked—and unlike helium-3 testers, which cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, Wilson’s cost a few hundred bucks.

He filed for a patent. In May 2011, Wilson entered his radiation detector in the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair against 1,500 competitors and won the $50,000 Intel Foundation Young Scientist Award.

It's good to see young people encouraged at such an age to pursue scientific endeavors, but some kids are particularly bright, which is summed up by Taylors mentor, Ron Phaneuf:

He’s a phenomenon, probably the most brilliant person I’ve met in my life, and I’ve met Nobel laureates.”

Mental Floss

My only concern is how young budding scientists like Jamie and Taylor could be poached by companies with less than honorable intentions. Kids are the future as they say and IMO should be encouraged to change the future for the better, and not to be lured in by less than reputable agencies who can exploit their knowledge for their own gain.

reply to post by Thecakeisalie


That is BRILLIANT work!

I hope this fellows achievement gains him all the opportunities for advancement and the gaining of knowledge, that an intellect such as his deserves. I also hope that it inspires others to strive for every little morsel of knowledge that they can lay their hands upon. With people like this wandering the planet, great things are possible!

Thecakeisalie
reply to post by OpinionatedB

 

Yeah sorry about that, I hit enter and for some reason it posted. I guess I should be the last person to be let near a nuclear reactor.

Um, cause for some reason the enter button is used to post things. LOL

Thecakeisalie

My only concern is how young budding scientists like Jamie and Taylor could be poached by companies with less than honorable intentions. Kids are the future as they say and IMO should be encouraged to change the future for the better, and not to be lured in by less than reputable agencies who can exploit their knowledge for their own gain.

I was thinking the same thing the whole time I read your post. I imagine he has caught some attention from corporations and some in government. I always picture those two entities watching children who are this smart so they can either get them to work for them or corner the market on anything good that may be developed (free energy, etc.) in the future.

It may just be paranoia... but it seems feasible given what both are capable of.

reply to post by Kangaruex4Ewe


thats how bill clinton was discovered
...damn i wished id never thought that