Cesare Mencarini, a 17-year-old Italian student at Cardiff Sixth Form College, has become the first person to create a working fusion reactor in a school setting, Interesting Engineering reported.
Mencarini spent 18 months constructing the reactor as part of his A-levels (advanced coursework in U.K. schools). He achieved plasma in June and later showcased the project at the Cambridge Science Festival, IE revealed. Mencarini received an A* in his A-level results.
When Mencarini first presented the idea to create a fusion reactor, there was resistance.
"The college was initially concerned that this project, which I have also used for my EPQ, was dangerous," Mencarini told The Mirror, per IE. "However, we did full risk assessments, and the staff have been so supportive."
The fusion reaction mimics the one that occurs inside the sun. However, since Mencarini's device can't achieve the sun's level of pressure, it needed to get much hotter. Mencarini used a high voltage of electricity to reach the right conditions for fusion — a process that, in theory, could provide abundant clean energy for the world if realized at scale.
Experts have called for a transition away from dirty fuels such as gas, oil, and coal because they are the primary cause of the dangerous rise of global temperatures linked to more intense and frequent extreme weather and food insecurity, among other things.
In an exclusive interview with the Galactic Explorer, Mencarini spoke about his motivations.
"I thought that, as a student, I could be an inspiration for other people, especially for the young generation because we need to push them forward, to reach new boundaries," he said. "It was also a way to convince people of my generation, my peers, to take on difficult projects, outside of their comfort zones."
Julian Davies, principal of Mencarini's college, said, "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," per the Daily Mail.
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"Cesare has been outstanding in his work ethic and will no doubt make a significant impact on the energy industry in the future," Davies added.
In the future, Mencarini intends to work at the University of Bristol's Interface Analysis Centre before pursuing a degree in engineering, according to IE.
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