12-year-old builds nuclear fusion machine in bid to set youngest-ever World Record

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A 12-year-old boy in Dallas has created a working nuclear fusion machine and is applying to Guinness World Records to be recognized as the youngest person to achieve this.

So, this guy Aiden McMillan built his own nuclear fusion device – seriously! He showed it off to NBC Dallas-Fort Worth, and it’s pretty amazing. I saw the report and I’m blown away that someone could actually do that in their own time. It’s like something out of a sci-fi game!

This accomplishment puts him in contention to break the Guinness World Record for achieving nuclear fusion, currently held by Jackson Oswalt. Oswalt achieved this feat just hours before his 13th birthday and was officially recognized by Guinness as the youngest person to ever do so.

How the machine works

McMillan told NBC Dallas-Fort Worth that he first became fascinated with nuclear fusion as a child after reading about it, and that inspired him to build his own fusion machine.

He mentioned the project worried his mother. She urged him to carefully consider all the potential risks and how to avoid them, saying she needed a thorough explanation of what could go wrong.

The device he built is a type of fusor, which uses electricity to heat and hold plasma in place. Although these machines don’t produce useful power, getting one to work properly is a major accomplishment in engineering.

It’s still unclear if Guinness World Records will officially acknowledge McMillan’s accomplishment.

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2026-02-11 18:49