In the world of science, a new contender has emerged for the title of the youngest nuclear physicist to achieve a thermonuclear fusion reaction. He is a 13-year-old boy named Jackson Oswalt, who lives in Tennessee (USA). While his peers, which is typical of this age, played video games and watched TV, Jackson was busy assembling a compact fusion reactor in his laboratory, which he himself created in the former playroom of his home, writes the Science Alert portal.
Oswalt began creating a thermonuclear fusion plant when he was only 12 years old, but on January 19, 2018, just a few hours before his 13th birthday, he announced that he had achieved his goal.
With the help of 50,000 volts of energy, the guy was able to successfully collide two atoms of gaseous deuterium inside the reactor he created, successfully draining the nucleus in the active plasma zone. After doing more research, Oswalt became more confident in his results.
In fairness, it should be noted that until his results are not subject to third-party assessment by other experts and are not published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal, all his words must be taken with a fair amount of skepticism.
However, Oswalt is not the only one who is sure of his success. The Open Source Fusor Research Consortium also confirmed the boy's findings. According to website administrator Jason Hull, Oswalt has been added to the list of amateurs who have achieved thermonuclear fusion.
By the way, it is worth noting that the costs of creating the Oswalt nuclear reactor, which is a "tiny fusor", really turned out to be quite tangible - about 10 thousand dollars that the parents gave the boy. At the same time, Jackson's father says that he allowed his son to work on the project only after he invited specialists who told the boy about the dangers associated with radiation and voltages of thousands of volts.
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If the boy's results are reviewed or verified by a scientific organization, he will officially oust 14-year-old Taylor Wilson, who was previously the youngest person to ever achieve thermonuclear fusion.