Nuclear fusion reactor created by school teenager successfully achieved plasma

A student has successfully developed a small nuclear fusion reactor as part of his A-Levels. The 17-year-old built the reactor to generate neutrons as part of his Extended Project Qualification (EPQ).

Notably, Cesare Mencarini’s work is claimed to be the only nuclear reactor built in a school environment.

Showcased at the Cambridge Science Festival recently, the nuclear reactor achieved plasma a few months ago. It also gave Mencarini an A* in his A-Level results, according to reports.

It wasn’t easy for Mencarini to convince his teachers for the project. The faculty members even though that the project could be dangerous and pose a significant threat.

College was initially concerned with this project

“The college was initially concerned that this project , which I have also used for my EPQ, was dangerous. However, we did full risk assessments, and the staff have been so supportive,” said Mencarini .

Finally, after spending 18 months of hard work on the project, Mencarini successfully developed the small reactor .

The teen aims to apply for a degree in engineering. However, before that, he has an ambition to work at University of Bristol’s Interface and Analysis Centre.

Purpose of reactor is to form conditions that are required for fusion

Mencarini maintained that the goal of the reactor is to create conditions that are required for fusion . However, the project couldn’t get same pressure that’s generated by the Sun due to its own gravity.

Therefore, to make atoms hot enough, the teen used high voltage.

Describing Mencarini as “outstanding,” the college’s principal Dr Julian Davies claimed that the teen will make a significant impact on the energy industry in the future. He also termed Cesare’s work, was built in more than a year, extremely exciting.

Mencarini has been outstanding in his work ethic

“We want to give our students the opportunity to work on projects that interest them as well as teaching them how to pass exams and to be brave in enabling them to take risks and develop projects that are applicable to real life situations,” said Davies, according to Daily Mail.

“Mencarini has been outstanding in his work ethic and will no doubt make a significant impact on the energy industry in the future.”

Mencarini, who hails from Italy, studied maths, chemistry, and physics at Cardiff Sixth Form College. He demonstrated the reactor’s potential alongside Imperial College, Bristol, and Bangor universities.

Reactor achieved plasma in June

The reactor achieved plasma in June. “Two days ago I achieved plasma, which was brilliant and I’m massively happy about this,” wrote Mencarini in a LinkedIn post .

“The system is running thanks to a Leybold Trivac E2 roughing pump, which allows me to achieve a minimum pressure of 8E-3 Torr.”

At that time, he mentioned that Pfeiffer TPH062 would be used later to achieve fusion. “This turbomolecular pump is currently isolated by a VAT Throttling Valve.”

“The grid is then attached to a 30kV rated High Voltage Feedthrough connected to a 5kV Unilab power supply, which allows me to use the fusor in my school (It is limited to a 2mA output). While running the fusor I experimented with 2 grids which you can see in the images,” added Mencarini in the post .