How I built a nuclear reactor at the age of 13 | Jamie Edwards | TEDxCERN

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What does it take to build a nuclear reactor? Jamie Edwards started out on his journey at age 13 to beat Taylor Wilson's record of being the youngest person to achieve nuclear fusion. He tells of the obstacles he faced as a young schoolboy while trying to achieve his dream, such as trying to convince his headmaster to order deuterium on eBay.

At 13 years old, Jamie Edwards attempted to become the youngest person ever to achieve nuclear fusion by colliding the nuclei of hydrogen atoms via inertial electrostatic confinement in his school lab. When Jamie told his headmaster about his plan to build the nuclear reactor and asked for funding, the reply was "Will it blow up the school?" Jamie got the funding, and rest assured, the school still stands. For his next project, Jamie - who wants to be a nuclear engineer or work in theoretical physics - has his sights on building a miniature Hadron Collider. He's now 14 years old.

Nuclear power.

I guess this is what most people think of
when it comes to nuclear power.

Well, for me, this is what I think of;
or more specifically, this.

But before I tell you about that,
let me tell you how all this started.

Even as a young kid, I was
always asking questions.

Questions to my mom, my dad, my teachers,

but eventually, they weren't able
to answer my questions anymore.

So, I turned to the Internet
to find some answers.

It was on the Internet
that I came across this guy,

Taylor Wilson, who'd created
nuclear fusion at 14.

I was like, "Wow! Fusion!
In the back garden!"

I had to find out more.

So, while searching online,
I came across fusor.net,

a group of amateur scientists
who were building these Farnsworth fusors.

It was there that I worked out

that it was actually possible
for me to build one of these.

I figured it'd cost around 2,000 pounds.

Slight problem,
I didn't have 2,000 pounds.

I was going to have to raise
the money myself,

so I started writing
to some local nuclear labs,

big engineering companies, universities.

But you know what?

For some reason, they didn't want
to give 2,000 pounds

to a 13-year-old trying to build
a nuclear reactor.

(Laughter)

No idea why.

So instead, I asked
my school science teacher

if she could help with my project.

She suggested we tried the head teacher.

So after a "Dragons’ Den"
style pitch to Mr. Hourigan,

I managed to persuade him
to part with 2,000 pounds.

So, armed with the school
credit card, I turned to eBay.

I bought parts from all over the world:
power supplies from the USA,

resistance from Hong Kong
and vacuum pumps from Lithuania.

I built this. My fusion reactor.

However, I couldn't get
everything from eBay.

Their terms and conditions
were a little restrictive,

even the specialist gas supply
seemed concerned.

They wanted to know why exactly

a 13-year-old schoolboy from Lancashire
wanted ten liters of deuterium gas.

- Anyway...
- (Laughter)

This is the neutron detector,
it's a key part of the reactor.

I use it to tell me if the reaction
has actually happened or not.

However, they are not easy to get hold of.

I had to call everyone I knew
to find someone who might know someone

who might just happen to know someone else
who actually has one of these.

In the end, a local university
lent me this one.

The high-voltage power supply
was one of the most expensive parts,

but when it arrived
from the USA, it didn't work.

Even to this day,
I haven't figured out why.

But luckily, a local switchgear company

not only lent me the kit to use it,
they also taught me how to use it safely.

There was so much about safety.

Apparently, there was some concern
about letting a 13-year-old loose

with a nuclear reactor in school.

Not sure why.

One of the conditions was

I had to be over two meters away
from the reactor while in operation.

Slight problem, you see these arms?

There was no way I could reach.

But thanks to the school's tech department

and some complex engineering,

we made these.

[They designed] broom handles with bits
of plastic, superglued to the end,

so I could operate
the controls from a distance.

(Laughter)

There was also the problem

that I might touch the reactor
while it was in operation.

So we made a high-tech chicken wire cage,

and put it around the reactor
so I couldn't touch it.

There was also the problem
of a high-energy neutron radiation

coming out of the reactor.

So this was my solution:
my sister's fish tanks.

Minus the fish, of course.

We filled them with a boron solution

to act as moderator
and absorber of the neutrons.

And finally, just in case
I managed to electrocute myself,

we made this.

It is indeed a hook
made of old bike inner tubes

in case I managed to electrocute myself
and needed rescuing.

So, the big day had come.

I was feeling calm
until the press started turning up.

I might have mentioned
something to Mr. Hourigan,

about the possibility
of some PR from the school.

I was only thinking the local paper.

But press from all over
the place turned up.

So, I had everything set up,
the cameras were ready,

my hook was at the ready,
and then we switched on the reactor.

The first thing I did
was pump down the chamber

and apply the high voltage.

That's when I achieved this: plasma,
a key step in producing fusion.

I played with this for a while,
until I was confident

I was getting the balance right
between power and vacuum,

and then all that I had to do
was up the voltage,

and add in a tiny bit of deuterium gas.

I achieved this:

a reading on the neutron detector.

I'd done it. It was amazing.

All my hard work had paid off.

But now, as a young scientist,

I now need to go back
to the experiment and do it again

because as you all know, in science,

we need to repeat our experiments
and duplicate our results,

and that's my current focus.

But none of this would have happened

if it weren't for a science teacher
who believed in the dreams of her pupils,

and a head teacher who was willing
to take a risk to give me the opportunity.

So, to any young scientist out there,
no matter how young:

nothing is ever too big for you to try.

All you need is curiosity,
determination, and an open mind.

Thank you.

(Applause)