Who is Jackson Oswalt?
Jackson Oswalt is a boy from Tennessee, USA. He is the youngest person to make nuclear fusion at home.
Jackson liked playing video games. One day, he thought video games were not very important. He wanted to do something real, so he chose science.
At 11 years old, Jackson started watching YouTube videos about physics. He bought the things he needed on eBay. After one year, he made nuclear fusion. He did this just before his 13th birthday. In 2018, the Guinness World Records gave him an award for his work.
What is nuclear fusion?
Nuclear fusion gives energy to the Sun and other stars. It happens when two light atom’s nuclei join to form a heavier nucleus. This process creates a lot of energy.
Are there other types of nuclear reactions?
Yes, there is another type called nuclear fission. It also makes a lot of energy. But instead of joining atoms, it splits them into two parts. Nuclear fission is used in power plants to make electricity. These plants give 10% of the world’s electricity.
Nuclear power does not make greenhouse gases, but it makes dangerous waste. This waste can pollute surrounding areas for thousands of years.
Why don’t we use nuclear fusion to make electricity?
Nuclear fusion can make more energy than nuclear fission. It is also cleaner because it makes less dangerous waste. The materials for fusion, like lithium and hydrogen, are easy to find.
But nuclear fusion is very hard to do. It needs a special state called plasma. Plasma only happens at very high temperatures (over 100 million degrees Celsius) and pressure. Scientists are still working to make these conditions last long enough to make energy.
The world’s largest nuclear fusion project, ITER, is in France. It is trying to solve these problems. Experts believe that by 2050, we will have nuclear fusion power plants.
