12-year-old builds working nuclear fusion device, aims for world record
Aiden McMillan, a 12-year-old from Dallas, has pulled off something pretty wild—he built a working nuclear fusion device after four years of research.
He got interested in fusion at age eight and spent evenings and weekends learning nuclear physics before finally detecting neutrons that proved his homemade device actually worked.
From solo research to hands-on building
Aiden's journey took him from solo research to hands-on building at Launchpad, a Dallas makerspace.
Along the way, he picked up real-world skills like handling vacuum pumps and staying safe around high voltage.
His mom was worried about safety at first but allowed testing at home after he demonstrated he understood the risks.
Aiden's device fuses atoms in a sealed chamber
His device fuses atoms in a sealed chamber, releasing neutrons as proof.
Now, Aiden's aiming for the Guinness World Record as the youngest person to achieve nuclear fusion—hoping to beat the previous record-holder.
For him, seeing those neutrons show up felt like "the end of a long, long journey."