In a remarkable project, Cesare Mencarini, a 17-year-old student, has succeeded in developing a nuclear fusion reactor as part of his extended A-Level project. The reactor, built to generate neutrons, was recently showcased at the Cambridge Science Festival and was recognized as the only nuclear reactor built in a school environment.
Mencarini’s work has been honored with an A* in his A-Level results, which underscores his extraordinary achievement. His reactor managed to achieve plasma a few months ago, a moment Mencarini described as “brilliant” and extremely satisfying in his LinkedIn postings. Of course, the road here has not been without its obstacles. Mencarini’s professors were initially reluctant, fearing the project could be dangerous and pose a significant threat. However, with perseverance and impressive technical skills, the young physicist was able to realize his dream. In his presentation, Mencarini explained that his system works thanks to a Leybold Trivac E2 vacuum pump, which allows a minimum pressure of 8E-3 Torr to be achieved. In the future, he plans to use a Pfeiffer TPH062 turbomolecular pump to achieve fusion. “This pump is currently isolated by a VAT throttling valve,” Mencarini said. He also mentioned the use of a 30kV high-voltage power supply and a 5kV Unilab power supply, which allows the reactor to be used in the school, with an output limited to 2mA. His experiments included two grids, which can be seen in the images shown. This achievement underlines not only the ingenuity of young scientific talents, but also the innovative potential of academic projects in schools. Cesare Mencarini’s invention represents a significant step forward in the exploration of nuclear fusion and opens new perspectives on the future of clean energy technologies.