The One
4th September 2011, 18:00
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Taylor Wilson invented an inexpensive radiation detector for use at U.S. ports.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
•At age 10, Taylor Wilson built his first bomb out of a pill bottle and household chemicals
•Government officials wanted Wilson's research for counter-terrorism efforts
•In spite of his efforts to make the world safe from terrorists, Wilson is seen as a menace
While his beanpole frame and Justin Bieber--esque haircut suggest he's just a harmless kid, his after-school activities paint a far more ominous picture. At age 10, he built his first bomb out of a pill bottle and household chemicals. At 11, he started mining for uranium and buying vials of plutonium on the Internet. At 14, he became the youngest person in the world to build a nuclear fusion reactor.
"I'm obsessed with radioactivity. I don't know why," says Wilson in his laid-back drawl. "Possibly because there's power in atoms that you can't see, an unlocked power."
Shouldn't teams in hazmat suits descend on Wilson and shut down his operations before someone gets hurt? On the contrary, there are people in the government who think that Wilson is key to keeping this country safe.
"The Cold War is really when nuclear physicists got their shot, and those people are all retiring," points out one of Wilson's mentors, Ron Phaneuf, a professor of physics at the University of Nevada in Reno.
"I think the U.S. Department of Energy is a little concerned that the motivation of young people to get interested in that kind of science has waned. I think that's one of the reasons doors have been opened to Taylor. He's a phenomenon, probably the most brilliant person I've met in my life, and I've met Nobel laureates."
more here http://www.cnn.com/2011/09/01/living/teen-nuclear-scientist/index.html?hpt=hp_bn8
Taylor Wilson invented an inexpensive radiation detector for use at U.S. ports.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
•At age 10, Taylor Wilson built his first bomb out of a pill bottle and household chemicals
•Government officials wanted Wilson's research for counter-terrorism efforts
•In spite of his efforts to make the world safe from terrorists, Wilson is seen as a menace
While his beanpole frame and Justin Bieber--esque haircut suggest he's just a harmless kid, his after-school activities paint a far more ominous picture. At age 10, he built his first bomb out of a pill bottle and household chemicals. At 11, he started mining for uranium and buying vials of plutonium on the Internet. At 14, he became the youngest person in the world to build a nuclear fusion reactor.
"I'm obsessed with radioactivity. I don't know why," says Wilson in his laid-back drawl. "Possibly because there's power in atoms that you can't see, an unlocked power."
Shouldn't teams in hazmat suits descend on Wilson and shut down his operations before someone gets hurt? On the contrary, there are people in the government who think that Wilson is key to keeping this country safe.
"The Cold War is really when nuclear physicists got their shot, and those people are all retiring," points out one of Wilson's mentors, Ron Phaneuf, a professor of physics at the University of Nevada in Reno.
"I think the U.S. Department of Energy is a little concerned that the motivation of young people to get interested in that kind of science has waned. I think that's one of the reasons doors have been opened to Taylor. He's a phenomenon, probably the most brilliant person I've met in my life, and I've met Nobel laureates."
more here http://www.cnn.com/2011/09/01/living/teen-nuclear-scientist/index.html?hpt=hp_bn8