Task 1 Gifted teenager breaks science record

13-year-old Jamie Edwards made history when he became the youngest person in the world to create nuclear fusion in the laboratory of his secondary school. When Jamie first informed his head teacher about his plan to create nuclear fusion in the school, he was stunned. ‘I was a little nervous,’ he admits.

Fortunately, after Jamie gave a presentation about the safety and the benefits, head teacher Jim Hourigan agreed to let the experiment go ahead. Jamie had always been interested in science and developed a fascination for radiation. He even saved up to buy a Geiger counter, a device that detects radiation, with his pocket money. But his ambition to create nuclear fusion was sparked when he came across a story about Taylor Wilson, a 14-year old schoolboy from the US who had become the youngest person to produce a small fusion reactor in 2008. ‘I looked at it, thought “that looks cool” and decided to have a go,’ he says. He calculated that he needed about £2,000 to build the machine, and first contacted nuclear laboratories, engineering companies and universities to enlist their help. Not surprisingly, they didn’t take a 13-year-old seriously. So with the help of his science teacher, he turned to his head teacher and persuaded him to fund the project. After months of work, and making many of the parts himself, he was ready to try it out just days before his 14th birthday. … And when he turned on the switch, the Geiger counter registered that fusion had indeed taken place. ‘Seeing that purple glow was the best part,’ said Edwards.

As the neutron detector confirmed it, Jamie knew that he’d become the world’s youngest person to achieve nuclear fusion from scratch, using high energy to smash hydrogen atoms together to create helium. Speaking after the experiment, Jamie was delighted. ‘It’s quite an achievement. I can’t quite believe it!’ he said. Scientists around the world are now repeating Jamie’s experiment, but on a much bigger scale, in the hope of using it to fuel cheap, environmentally friendly power stations with the aim of producing clean, carbon-free energy. Meanwhile, Jamie, who has ambitions to become an engineer or nuclear physicist in the future, remains down-to-earth and is modest about his achievements. As he says, ‘None of this would have happened if it wasn’t for a science teacher who believed in the dreams of her pupil, and a head teacher who was willing to take a risk to give me the opportunity. So to any young scientists out there, no matter how young, nothing is ever too big for you to try. All you need is curiosity, determination and an open mind. NUCLEAR FUSION is a reaction in which two or more atoms collide at a very high speed and form a new type of atom. During the process, energy is produced.

Read the article again and choose the best answers.

1. Jamie’s experiment was exceptional because …

a. nobody believed that he could do it.

b. only older people had done it before.

c. everyone thought that it was too dangerous.

2. He was motivated to do the experiment because …

a. he was interested in radiation.

b. he wanted to be the youngest person to achieve nuclear

fusion.

c. he was inspired by a young scientist that he read about

online.

3. He got the money to build his machine from …

a. his school.

b. engineering companies and universities.

c .his science teacher.

4. The experiment was useful because …

a. Jamie built the machine using simple materials.

b. the idea may help to produce a form of energy.

c. teachers, experts and newspapers could see it.

5. For Jamie, the experiment showed that …

a. young people can do extraordinary things.

b. he could become an engineer or nuclear physicist in the

future.

c. he had support from his teachers and school.

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