Taylor Wilson#Fission reactor
{{Short description|American nuclear physicist (born 1994)}}
{{distinguish|Taylor Wilson (volleyball)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2014}}
{{Infobox person
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| name = Taylor Wilson
| image = Taylor Wilson Halifax 2016 cropped.jpg
| caption = Wilson in 2016
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1994|5|07|mf=y}}
| birth_place = Texarkana, Arkansas, United States
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| awards = Thiel Fellowship
| occupation = Nuclear science
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Taylor Wilson (born May 7, 1994) is an American nuclear physicist{{cite web|date=2015-09-09|title=Scientific Forum 2015: Fusion Wunderkind Taylor Wilson Gives Us His Take on How Nuclear Technology Can Improve Lives|url=https://www.iaea.org/newscenter/news/scientific-forum-2015-fusion-wunderkind-taylor-wilson-gives-us-his-take-on-how-nuclear-technology-can-improve-lives|access-date=2021-01-23|website=www.iaea.org|language=en}}{{cite web|date=2015-06-20|title='If I burn out, I burn out': meet Taylor Wilson, nuclear boy genius|url=http://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/jun/20/taylor-wilson-nuclear-teen-genius-science-interview|access-date=2021-01-23|website=the Guardian|language=en}} and science advocate. Wilson achieved controlled nuclear fusion in 2008 when he was 14 years old. He has designed a compact radiation detector to enhance airport security. Wilson works to expand applications for nuclear medicine, and to design and develop modular power reactor technology.Dutton, Judy. [http://www.cnn.com/2011/09/01/living/teen-nuclear-scientist/index.html "Teen Nuclear Scientist Fights Terror"], CNN.com, September 1, 2011. Retrieved September 3, 2011.
Personal life and education
Taylor Wilson was born in 1994 in Texarkana, Arkansas to Kenneth and Tiffany Wilson. His father is the owner of a Coca-Cola bottling plant, and his mother was a yoga instructor.{{cite web|url=http://www.nbcnews.com/video/rock-center/52207962|title=Rock Center: 19-year-old hopes to revolutionize nuclear power|publisher=NBC News video|access-date=October 18, 2013}} Wilson was initially interested in rocketry and space science, before entering the field of nuclear science at age 10.{{cite web|url=http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2012-02/boy-who-played-fusion|title=The Boy Who Played With Fusion|publisher=Popular Science|date= 2012-02-14|access-date=October 18, 2013}} He had a lot of support from his parents.{{cite book| url= http://tomclynes.com/the-boy-who-played-with-fusion/|title= The Boy who played with Fusion|first= Tom|last= Clynes |publisher= Eamon Dolan/Houghton-Mifflin-Harcourt|isbn= 978-0-544-08511-4|date= 2015}} He resides in Reno, Nevada.{{cite web | title=About Me | website=Taylor Wilson | url=http://www.sciradioactive.com/about-me/ |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20211230142546/http://www.sciradioactive.com/about-me/|archive-date= 2021-12-30|access-date=2022-05-03}}
In June 2012, Wilson was awarded a Thiel Fellowship.{{cite web |url = https://techcrunch.com/2012/06/14/nuclear-fusion-3d-printing-biomedical-imaging-what-thiels-new-20-under-20-fellows-are-attacking/ |title = Nuclear Fusion, 3D Printing, Biomedical Imaging: What Thiel's New 20 Under 20 Fellows Are Attacking |last = Cutler |first = Kim-Mai |date = June 14, 2012 |publisher = TechCrunch }} The two-year $100,000 fellowship requires recipients to forgo college for the duration of the fellowship. In 2017, Wilson was named a member of the Helena Group, a think tank focused on executing projects that improve the world.{{cite web |url = http://helena.co/members/ |title = Helena Group Members |publisher = Helena Group Foundation |date = 2017 }}{{cite web |url = https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/energy/2017/11/07/boy-genius-tackling-energys-toughest-problem/836896001/ |title = The boy genius tackling energy's toughest problem |publisher = USA Today |date = 2017-11-07}}
Scientific projects
File:Taylor Wilson Presenting Fusor to Obama.jpg, February 7, 2012{{cite web|url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2012/02/07/president-obama-hosts-white-house-science-fair|work=whitehouse.gov|title=President Obama Hosts the White House Science Fair|date=February 7, 2012 |via=National Archives|access-date=October 18, 2013}}]]
= Fusion reactor =
In 2008, Wilson achieved nuclear fusion that generated a temperature forty times as hot as that of the sun using an inertial electrostatic confinement (IEC) device, which was a variation of the fusor that was invented by Philo T. Farnsworth in 1964.{{cite web |title=Taylor Wilson {{!}} Nuclear |url=https://helena.org/members/taylor-wilson |website=helena.org |publisher=HELENA.ORG |access-date=5 August 2024}}
= Nuclear detection =
In May 2010, Wilson entered the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in San Jose, California, and won several awards for his project titled "Fission Vision: The Detection of Prompt and Delayed Induced Fission Gamma Radiation, and the Application to the Detection of Proliferated Nuclear Materials."[https://apps2.societyforscience.org/abstracts/absresults.cfm Intel SEF database]. societyforscience.org
In May 2011, Wilson entered his radiation detector in the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in Los Angeles, California, against a field of 1,500 competitors and won a US$50,000 award.[https://gizmodo.com/5813207/teen-builds-nuke-detecting-device-saves-us-all-from-horrible-death Teen Builds Nuke Detecting Device], Gizmodo.com. Retrieved September 3, 2011 The project, “Countering Nuclear Terrorism: Novel Active and Passive Techniques for Detecting Nuclear Threats”, won the First Place Award in the Physics and Astronomy Category, Best of Category Award, and the Intel Young Scientist Award. Wilson stated he hopes to test and rapidly field the devices to US ports for counterterrorism purposes.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Department of Energy offered federal funding to Wilson concerning research he has conducted in building inexpensive Cherenkov radiation detectors.
= Fission reactor =
On February 27, 2013, at TED 2013, Wilson presented his ideas on the benefits of building small underground nuclear fission reactors that are self-contained and use down-blended uranium and plutonium from decommissioned nuclear weapons as fuel.{{cite magazine |url = https://ideas.time.com/2013/03/01/the-wunderkinder-of-ted/ |title = The Wunderkinder of TED |date = March 1, 2012 |magazine = Time }}
In popular culture
He is the subject of the biography The Boy Who Played with Fusion, by Tom Clynes, published in 2015, the movie rights to which have been optioned by 20th Century Fox. {{cite web|last=Fleming|first=Mike Jr.|date=2012-07-30|title=Chernin Company Acquires Popular Science Article About 14-Year-Old Who Achieved Nuclear Fusion|url=https://deadline.com/2012/07/chernin-entertainment-acquires-popular-science-article-about-14-year-old-who-achieved-nuclear-fusion-310072/|access-date=2021-01-23|website=Deadline|language=en-US}}
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
Further reading
- {{cite book | last=Clynes | first=Tom | title=The boy who played with fusion : extreme science, extreme parenting, and how to make a star. | publication-place=Boston, MA | date=2016 | isbn=978-0-544-70502-9 | oclc=913924197}}
External links
{{Commons category}}
- [http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2012-02/boy-who-played-fusion?page=all Profile of Taylor Wilson] at Popular Science
- [http://www.ted.com/talks/taylor_wilson_yup_i_built_a_nuclear_fusion_reactor.html March 2012 TED Talk] by Taylor Wilson: Yup, I built a nuclear fusion reactor! (time: 3:32)
- [https://www.ted.com/talks/taylor_wilson_my_radical_plan_for_small_nuclear_fission_reactors February 2013 Ted Talk] by Taylor Wilson: My radical plan for small nuclear fission reactors. (time: 12:40)
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Category:American nuclear engineers
Category:People from Texarkana, Arkansas
Category:People from Reno, Nevada