UK readers may have seen this on the TV news today. Others will have to Google the title of this thread. Not much hard information available yet, as he has not yet had time to update his blog, but it seems a 13-year-old boy in Preston has successfully achieved fusion (in very small quantities) in his classroom. In a vacuum system he got hydrogen nuclei to fuse, and according to the news he got an increase in neutron flux to prove it.
our energy woes are solved! 13 year old achieves what the entire US armed forces scientific community couldn't!
In related news, Jethro Tull are issuing a revised Thick as a Brick in honour of young Jamie.
I think the most remarkable part of this is the achievement in getting the funding and actually building the equipment. That's quite an achievement for a young person - especially extracting 2,000 quid from his teacher!
The fusion bit gets attention because of the word "nuclear", but in reality its pretty unremarkable. Its been done many MANY times before and no-one has yet got energy out of it.
In related news, Jethro Tull are issuing a revised Thick as a Brick in honour of young Jamie.
I think the most remarkable part of this is the achievement in getting the funding and actually building the equipment. That's quite an achievement for a young person - especially extracting 2,000 quid from his teacher!
The fusion bit gets attention because of the word "nuclear", but in reality its pretty unremarkable. Its been done many MANY times before and no-one has yet got energy out of it.
Nobody claimed to get energy out of it. I doubt if there are many DIY fusion reactors out there. The main point of this one is to beat the existing US 14-year-old's record.
Of course it was the nuclear bit which attracted the media. I was more impressed by a 13-year-old who understands vacuum technology etc. when most of his mates only know how to play games on an iPod.
Of course it was the nuclear bit which attracted the media. I was more impressed by a 13-year-old who understands vacuum technology etc. when most of his mates only know how to play games on an iPod.
There used to be a video on youtube showing how to make homemade plutonium. It started with using the filament mantles for Coleman lanterns, and extracting the Thorium from them. Then building a reactor using aluminum foil squares filled with carbon in a cube, surrounding the one in the center that contained the radioactive material, very low level of course. It was quite interesting, can't seem to find it now.
I suspect it actually works and thus was removed.....
an excerpt...
"In the meantime, look at the bright side. Your wife can entertain the Girl Scouts with numerous educational demonstrations about the wonders of the atom. For example, you can build a kitchen-table cloud chamber using dry ice and alcohol — drop in a thorium mantle and you'll be able to see the condensation trails left by the radioactive particles.
If the kids are really ambitious, and I wouldn't put it past some of the little Madame Curies I know, they can build their own model breeder reactor. In 1994 17-year-old David Hahn did just that in his mom's potting shed near Detroit as an outgrowth of work on a Boy Scout merit badge. He used tinfoil, duct tape, uranium powder from ore, radium from old luminous clock dials, americium from smoke detectors, and thorium ash from thousands of mantles. Even after the thing was disassembled, local radiation levels were 1,000 times background. One appreciates enterprise, but cheezit, kid, couldn't you stick to helping old ladies cross the street?"
I suspect it actually works and thus was removed.....an excerpt...
"In the meantime, look at the bright side. Your wife can entertain the Girl Scouts with numerous educational demonstrations about the wonders of the atom. For example, you can build a kitchen-table cloud chamber using dry ice and alcohol — drop in a thorium mantle and you'll be able to see the condensation trails left by the radioactive particles.
If the kids are really ambitious, and I wouldn't put it past some of the little Madame Curies I know, they can build their own model breeder reactor. In 1994 17-year-old David Hahn did just that in his mom's potting shed near Detroit as an outgrowth of work on a Boy Scout merit badge. He used tinfoil, duct tape, uranium powder from ore, radium from old luminous clock dials, americium from smoke detectors, and thorium ash from thousands of mantles. Even after the thing was disassembled, local radiation levels were 1,000 times background. One appreciates enterprise, but cheezit, kid, couldn't you stick to helping old ladies cross the street?"
Last edited:
- Status
- Not open for further replies.