12-Year-Old Boy Gets Unexpected Visit From FBI After Building Nuclear Fusion Reactor At Home

Think back to when you were 12 years old—what were you up to?

For me, it was all about counting down to the release of Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie and spending endless hours playing the Wii. But for Jackson Oswalt, a young boy from Memphis, Tennessee, his childhood looked a little different.

At just 12 years old, Jackson had what he described as a 'sudden epiphany'—a moment that completely shifted his focus and set him on an unusual path.

Jackson had an 'epiphany' about video games when he was a child X/@JacksonOswalt

As documented on the Guinness World Records website, Jackson explained: "I realized that I could be the absolute best at whatever video game, but in the end it still wouldn't mean much. In the grand scheme of things, video games had no role to play. So, I changed my ways."

Unlike most kids his age, who might have been drawn to comic books or blockbuster movies, Jackson decided to channel his curiosity into something far more ambitious. He saw science as the closest thing to video games in real life, and he became completely absorbed in the subject.

Determined to take his learning beyond the classroom, Jackson dove into online research, watching YouTube videos about nuclear fusion and studying materials that could help him build his own experiment.

If nuclear fusion sounds like something out of a sci-fi movie, here's a quick refresher. The process involves combining atomic nuclei under extreme heat and pressure, which leads to the formation of a new atomic nucleus and the release or absorption of energy.

Jackson chronicled his journey to achieving nuclear fusion in a Twitter thread, explaining: "The first step was to build a 'demo fusor', or a device that creates plasma but doesn't achieve fusion. This required a vacuum chamber, vacuum pump, and a neon sign transformer with a homemade AC-DC converter."

He added: "I ended up bringing this version to my school's science fair. I only got it working the night before. In hindsight, it's amazing they let me walk in the door with it."

Jackson achieved his Guinness World Record at 12 years old YouTube/Guinness World Records

With over a year of research, trial, and error—and after purchasing all the necessary components—Jackson finally achieved nuclear fusion. His success was verified by Fusor.net, The Open Source Fusor Research Consortium, in 2018, just one day before his 13th birthday, making him the youngest person ever to accomplish this feat.

That alone is impressive for any 12-year-old. But the story doesn’t end there.

Shortly after his achievement, Jackson found himself face-to-face with the FBI, making his already extraordinary experience even more surreal.

One Saturday morning, two FBI agents showed up at his house to conduct a thorough inspection. Armed with a Geiger counter, they wanted to ensure that his nuclear fusion experiment hadn’t resulted in any harmful radiation.

Luckily, their investigation didn't escalate beyond that initial check.

Reflecting on the experience, Jackson later remarked: "Fortunately I remained a free man,"

Fast forward seven years, and Jackson is still deeply involved in science and research.

Today, he works at research labs, including Midjourney, where he's focusing on hardware development and AI research.