This Amateur Physicist Built a Fusion Reactor in His Backyard

[@uuuuuuuuhhhhhhhhhh]

be careful he's gonna make 4 metal octopus arms and kidnap mary jane

[@Monarch_Prime]

I get it

[@uuuuuuuuhhhhhhhhhh]

@@Monarch_Prime me too

[@Smalls2004]

Haha

[@Smalls2004]

@@genghiskhan4697 that was the joke

[@airellevan9684]

Don't worry, Pizza time guy will save her

[@siyacer]

Boys: Backyard fission reactor Men: Backyard fusion reactor

[@ryanjohnson5266]

@@johnhbaumgaertner8948 i think he might be referring to david hahn, also known as the "radioactive boy scout"

[@imrannooraddin1876]

ok boomers

[@Max_Le_Groom]

I thought Fusion doesn't even exist yet

[@Sandwich4321]

@@johnhbaumgaertner8948 OK boomer

[@samareno9238]

@@Sandwich4321 Ok boomer

[@moffboffjoe]

He sounds like he sells fusion and fusion accessories

[@hi-gf5yl]

It’s a clean burning fuel

[@punkisinthedetails1470]

His last name is Hull, not Hill.

[@ameenaydan7794]

He does. Look at the fusor.net forum. It’s a whole website about fusion reactors that he contributes a lot to.

[@thejoxter6315]

Who said he doesn’t

[@robzworkz3358]

Damn it Bobby!

[@user-bx4px5sr4h]

These guys are added to my list of cool boomers.

[@adammasterx5854]

That One Stormtrooper so true, everyone thinks every single boomer is bad but there are so many that are actually very cool.

[@faiz3711]

@@adammasterx5854 most modern programming languages were built by very cool boomers, those are among my heros as well

[@reveirg9]

Why the fuck is everyone use the term boomer now. Sounds so rude.

[@Tera-plex]

@@reveirg9 Ok boomer

[@michaellind1281]

Ooo! Who's on your list?

[@sdds50]

“I always look at eating as a waste of time” sure buddy suree

[@gokudoge7588]

Lamonsoff looks more like a beer belly to me

[@haziqq]

Maybe he actually said the truth, people who eat less but unhealthy food will get fat. As compared to someone who eat more and healthier

[@niilovaananen3215]

A lot of people waste a lot of time

[@sawyerk19]

That there is ascites.

[@colmercer3315]

He has a reactor in that belly

[@jborgesss]

Some of the greatest scientists of all time would be considered "amateurs" nowadays.Bravo!

[@mrd2392]

Amateur mean they don't get pay forom making a nuclear reactor

[@cynaptic115]

I’m an engineering major and aspiring nuclear physicist who’s wanted to try this myself, I gotta get in touch with these guys

[@gilian2587]

Goodspeed. May your path lead to success. An electrically net positive fusion reactor would be a very good thing.

[@bencassi3657]

Is this dangerous in any way?

[@Altactic]

@@bencassi3657Yes, and if you have to ask you probably don’t know enough to safely do this.

[@linewater2690]

I was proud when I fixed my alarm clock...

[@Leo-xe6rf]

Ever heard about the Boy Scout kid that built a nuclear reactor?

[@Monarch_Prime]

Fission is dangerous and if done improperly could endanger everyone already. Fusion is safe and if a leak occurs the really hot stuff just cools and dissipates. Unlike in Fission where they linger and become radioactive waste that will give you cancer.

[@Monarch_Prime]

@@johnhbaumgaertner8948 I agree the boy scout was an idiot

[@bigdaddy2372]

You dont know his full name?

[@bigdaddy2372]

@@Monarch_Prime I think you meant to say genius

[@Monarch_Prime]

@@bigdaddy2372 i forgot his full name

[@CtrlOptDel]

Before anyone starts up with some “Big Oil” conspiracies; building a fusion reactor is - relatively - easy, building a *self-sustaining* fusion reactor that produces more energy than it takes to run is hard.

[@Casey5693]

These are always the guys who save the day in the movies. This is so cool.

[@jokuvaan5175]

This might come as a surprise to many but ITER isn't the first fusion reactor. Fusion reactors have actually existed for decades and there are working fusion reactors in laboratories around the World. The problem with them is just that they have consumed much more energy to create the fusion reaction than there has been energy produced by it. ITER is a test reactor supposed to be the first fusion reactor that can produce more energy than it consumes. This guy's fusion reactor is so small it's according to modern understanding of physics too small to net produce electricity.

[@Yamaazaka]

Oh well :)

[@Monarch_Prime]

Yeah. Its really really energy consuming

[@keshavnathoo1218]

The guy got's the money to spend on his fusion reactor. If they said in the vid that he produced his own electricity through the nuclear fusion reactions, you would have known it's a lie.

[@jazzy6689]

That’s incorrect, fusion reactors don’t take more energy than they produce

[@ryanjohnson5266]

@@jazzy6689 The ideal reactor would have a higher output than input, but these small models are essentially desk lamps. The plasma is there, but not enough fusion is going on to power anything.

[@kazoosc]

amateur 1 - a person who engages in a pursuit on an unpaid basis or as a pastime _( check )_ 2 - someone who is untrained at an activity _( check )_ as the builder and operator of a fusion reactor he qualifies as an amateur

[@Sexynes]

thank you definition expert

[@sadface7457]

Probably build farnsworth hirsch fusor which not that much different from a Tesla coil in difficulty.

[@samuelallanviolin752]

@@sadface7457 No I'd say it is harder, you need to pull a very tight vacuum for one. Also it depends on the type of fusor. The very basic one I guess is similar, but there are more advanced fusors with ion guns and other shenanigans that can be way more complex than a tesla coil.

[@Asian_Import]

Next week on the news: “Local physicist blows up his garage”

[@axvarela]

His neighborhood...

[@chriisssssss]

His city...

[@bantober]

Local physicist transcends god good

[@bantober]

Hood

[@AzlianaLyana]

😂 I'm thinking the same thing too!

[@romulusnr]

I just feel like from these stories that I don't get any useful information and there's no detail or no background. It's like the stories are just supposed to make simple people go "oh wow" and leave it like that. Like an Internet Age Ripley's.

[@southsudandiaspora]

I know right, what's up with that?

[@PyroXVuurwerk]

romulusnr I know right? They didn’t tell how he succeeded in making such a reactor.

[@hijodelsoldeoriente]

True. Not very educational.

[@waffy270]

@@PyroXVuurwerk Blueprints I guess

[@otterpop5551]

He actually didnt build a fusion reactor.. lol liars. The only actual fusion happening on earth by the hands of man, is done by scientists payed by the government, and they have a net loss in eletrical power even though it's by far the most sophisticated version of man made fusion.(they fling pennies at ultra high velocities which smash into tiny little cubes with a central cavity that becomes compressed and is turned directly into plasma which then fuses the material in the central cavity. *Utter waste of tine watching this*

[@Sandlin22]

Not sure I'm buying that "I think eating is a waste of time" line

[@vbrotherita]

Could be drinking!

[@rainlemon]

He is an old guy, and he prob spent half of his time, doing stuff in his shed, while eating something wrapped in paper, because its faster...

[@TheMadVulpen]

Lmao

[@hmwat1623]

Not eating on schedule is unhealthy and can increase chance of getting fat

[@uuuuuuuuhhhhhhhhhh]

Nah hes just old and doesnt exercise, its hard to be fit like that

[@richardhull2949]

A reactor be it chemical or nuclear is merely a device where a specific and desired "reaction " takes place. Typically, some reactants are thrown into the reactor and conditions are made such that a reaction can take place. The success of that reaction is measured with instruments based on what the reaction yields. A nuclear reaction vessel, (nuclear reactor), need only show the presence of the nuclear ash produced when that reaction takes place. Deuterium-deuterium fusion has a significant piece of ash, the neutron. If neutrons are detected in large amounts, (millions of fusion reactions per second), you are doing fusion. These fusion based neutrons are what is detected in this reactor. A nuclear reactor is where nuclear reactions take place, period! It need not produce usable electrical power or more energy output that was put into it. A nuclear fusion reactor only need produce the fusion reaction in measurable amounts of fusion to show that fusion is taking place. This enclosed, powered and fueled vessel does this. It does fusion.

[@Tactical-Black]

Gotta see this especially since the government didn't take his achievements and throw him in jail

[@jokuvaan5175]

Why would have they? It's not like he is gonna build an hydrogen bomb there.

[@Tactical-Black]

@@jokuvaan5175 your taking the joke too seriously,

[@Tactical-Black]

@jonnyawsom3 guess I failed

[@Real_True_Viking]

The only thing he achived is increasing his cholesterol, and he met a bunch of fellow X-Files fans.

[@Dacite6]

Hes an Ameture Scientist and hes the one will die if it Explodes

[@bencassi3657]

The fact that we can do this unregulated in our basement is absolutely incredible

[@MarbRedFred]

It’s a damn shame they didn’t give us more time with this wonderful gentleman!! 3 1/2 minutes isn’t enough to get his story or even show his fusion reactor!! Motherboard needs to get over there ASAP

The deadpan "would be nice if you'd welded before" got me, hard. He is right, this IS the ultimate DIY

[@heather-celestephoenix4125]

Congratulations to you're team of researchers. I'm so proud of people who ultimately simply breakdown and argue they don't want to buy crack or real estate or simply watch dust pile up on their debt cards. That amazing to have completed this experimental research in your own space to get where you are to show you're community a truely heroic individual is real and possibilities are never endless unless you choose for them to be or they simply are discovered to being their ending. Congrats to Virginia and also M.I.T for their plasma cloud at over 300 million degrees and let's us continue freezing the most powerful magnets the world has ever seen.

[@AmazingStoryDewd]

Some people commenting seem to have a misunderstanding about what the word amateur means. It' doesn't necessarily mean a beginner or not very knowledgeable. It merely means a person who is not professionally employed with in a field.

[@EnchantedSmellyWolf]

The highest level to make a reactor power generator for longevity power use for his own home. He deserved it for his dedication for science.

[@Dannybythebanana]

This is why I'm not too worried if nuclear armageddon sends us back 100 years technologically. So long as you have people like him around humanity will just bounce back up. (Once the fallout goes away)

[@Gamer-Artyom]

Europe, USA, russia, japan, israel are just such amazing places and with so many incredible people. Just amazing

[@EFChartley]

There sure is some talent in the USA! 🇺🇸 Great to see young & old. Jake, 18 from UK 🇬🇧

[@EFChartley]

Great to see the power of community spirit also! 🇺🇸 🇺🇸

[@unintentionallydramatic]

Looks like a wizard meetup.

[@stevensesselmann9281]

Wonderful, I learned a lot from Richard and the group 👍

[@raulfernandez3313]

“food and sleep are a waste of life” rip me then....

[@tapwater424]

Seriously though, food and sleep is the antidote to weakness and depression. Professional athletes get 8-10 hours of sleep every night.

[@wedding_photography]

He looks like he eats a lot though

[@meebious]

@@tapwater424 Nah,I think he meant to say that doing nothing beside eating and sleeping at home are a waste of time

[@davidkramer4006]

Did you see how well the reactor worked? Oh...wait a minute... Talk about click bait.

[@whereisdave]

I love great big story. But they all feel like trailers. I'm hooked. I'm interested. Cant wait for it to star.........oh and it's done!

[@drane1210]

A service man and a scientist wow. Great man. I'm sure glad there's motivated geniuses out there who are making change for the better

[@gefootball42]

That’s so cool! This is a great way to keep learning! Life is about learning.

[@mikehawk8871]

“Eating and sleeping is a waste of time” Well, guess I might as well starve 🤷‍♂️

[@ceber54]

Perhaps is better equipped than the fusion lab of my physics institute here in México, when i saw the NIMs definitively i think that he got serious.

[@additivealex4566]

We need somthing like this in Ontario. I don't think I would come home anymore if I had a group of like minded individuals doing amateur research.

[@Casey5693]

I want to see a movie about these guys saving the world.

[@shyhappy6810]

Me too

[@romistako2938]

ME TOO MEE TOOO!!!!!

[@taraaliyeva1813]

Why can I have him as my neighbor! Wouuu Amazing!

[@gordonchiew7341]

Looks like flat earthers, but geniuses instead

[@Phi1point62]

This fusion process is known as Inerita Electrostatic Cofinement and is based on the work of Philo Farnsworth. Look for the Geek Group video on how to make one if you're interested.

[@Nachoman24]

I think it's kind of misleading that there saying "he created nuclear fusion in his shed" because most people would probably think he did muon magic or acctualy built a tokamak reactor

[@Nachoman24]

But in reality he just smashed 2 atoms together

[@richardhull2949]

@@Nachoman24 Yes, two deuterons at the successful rate of 2 million pairs every second to make them fuse. (two million fusion reactions every second)

[@clickpause8732]

Remember that Sherlock Holmes was an amateur detective.

[@chichan9013]

Thirsty people gather at his house for science.

[@pugboi8017]

ur everywhere fatboi

[@thevet2009]

Backyard inventors have made significant changes in history and I see no reason for this to change in the future.

[@MrWildbill]

Not to say huge advancements can't be made by backyard/basement scientists, they certainly can, however the fusion he is talking about is not a self-sustained and controlled fusion reactor that we read about in the press. There are plenty of labs that can do fusion on this scale so it is not like he has made a breakthrough in fusion no matter how cool it is :)

[@waterfuel]

John Keely machine shop work during late 1800's was able to control some forces of nature with resonance vibrations. He used arrays of tuning forks hooked to what we now call thermocouples and thermopiles of silver, gold and platinum wires. Inharmonics of certain RATIOS applied would cause molecular and atomic attraction. He could even cause same poles of magnets to attract. several books available. Keely And His Discoveries, + Free Energy Pioneer + The Snell Manuscript - which is a tech summary of Keely's 3 reports printed about 1892.

[@joiion913]

2020: breaking news! *Local US city mysteriously disappears in bright light, neighbouring city says they heard a loud bang*

[@simeonbanner6204]

that's the America we love, like to see. Very much similar to the guys in their sheds in Britain.

[@ancicmathews9432]

I’ve built an ikea wardrobe , does that count ?

[@SultanAbdulRehman]

This is amazing!

[@no_one01-5]

For someone who considers eating 'a waste of life', he sure does sports a quite the girth around the stomach.

[@citricdemon]

it's diabetes

[@no_one01-5]

@@citricdemon Before or after?

[@citricdemon]

@@no_one01-5 before

[@no_one01-5]

@@citricdemon how do you know?

[@citricdemon]

@@no_one01-5 I know him. It's a small community.

[@sallom432]

plot twist: that screen 1:29 ran a floppy disk

[@kennethhicks2113]

Good job Richard! And may you keep educating : )

[@tenebrosforsetti.7998]

GOD BLESS RICHARD HULL AND HIS FAMILY AND HIS GENERATIONS FOR ALL ETERNITY AND INFINITY FOR HIS UNIMAGINABLY AMAZING AND INCREDIBLE EXTREMELY,IMMENSE HARDWORK,PERSEVERANCE AND SACRIFICES.

[@luisemoralesfalcon4716]

This reminds me of the story from the Boy Scout who built a Nuclear Reactor in his barn. This will help energy problems.

[@esgibtnureinen]

It won't, nowhere it is mentioned, that this thing puts out more energy than it takes in. And since his idea hasn't been marketed yet I assume this one takes in more energy than it puts out. This has been done before and it's a whole different story to achieve a higher energy output than input. So far the story of fusion is that for over 50 years people have been saying in 50 years we will have a working reactor, they are still saying that. They got closer but it is still a long way to go, if even possible.

[@ImStian]

Making more electricty than you put in is yet to be achieved by a fusion reactor.

[@learn2draw716]

Makes my life feel more trivial.

[@fisharefriends598]

If you can build that your a fricking genius

[@L_C_Action]

0:19 look at that young guy's curiosity!!

[@eddiethedave]

Eating a waste of time? That's funny cuz he sure don't look like he's missed any meals

[@eddiejohnhurst1]

Dude that's SWEET

[@Hugo-lm7ed]

This makes me sooo happy 😊

[@jgaguilar]

these dudes seem like freakin' wizards

[@pattymcfatty0]

this is actually so cool

[@tankhuncarps]

Meanwhile I'm still trying to find a reason to wake up tomorrow

[@DarknessOfSorrow]

This reminds of an episode of Dexter’s Laboratory where Dexter meets his grandpa.

[@JustADioWhosAHeroForFun]

Ok now build a metal suit and call yourself Iron Dad

[@lehw916]

I am happy to see curious female scientists at his lab.

[@anonymousbub3410]

Isn’t fusion the harder of the two (fission/fusion)? If so why isn’t every scientist who has been struggling to get it started following him?

[@robrod7120]

Anonymous bub Fusion isn’t actually that hard to achieve, what people have been working on for years is self-sustained fusion that releases more energy than it takes in. What this man has done really isn’t all that revolutionary, actually.

[@Omar-vz9el]

@@robrod7120 Nonetheless, it is impressive. Even more so when you realize he's doing this in his backyard.

[@robrod7120]

Omar Carmona Oh, for sure, never said it wasn’t impressive. I love stuff like that, small teams or even one person doing cool experiments or projects like that, I watch a channel called thought emporium who does many (comparatively small) projects that I find really interesting. I was just clarifying that what he has achieved has been achieved before, just not in the amateur lab.

[@anonymousbub3410]

@Rob Rod Thanks for clearing it up.

[@pmag3200]

Man tries to sell his house and can't due to radiation Fallout

[@modelvietnam3377]

Tks for sharing 👍😀

[@Peter7966]

I built a big rocket ship that goes real fast, faster than the speed of light... and I'm traveling to Jupiter tomorrow.

[@paraseth]

I just love this !

[@chinamon7870]

Truly amazing

[@vent_srikar7360]

People spend millions and my man has done it in his backyard

[@10nime]

Oh my god! He is the inspiration behind Dexter‘s Lab at least for his grandfather

[@Basedmeant22]

Insanely cool

[@9minty]

TheBackyardScientist: Am I a joke to you?

[@exudeku]

oh, so this is that Madlad back in the day

[@maxhacks2942]

Still better than the boy scout who built a nuclear reactor in his shack and got all the town irrafiated

[@TVTShindi]

So why is this not public yet?

[@StillReload]

when your neighborhood cat start talking and have 2 heads, you should question this gentleman

[@davidescobar5366]

So how long do you have to be an amateur or what do you have to build before the mainstream community starts calling you a professional? I mean can you be an amateur astronomer all you life even after perhaps discovering a new comet or planet or something of the sort? Or be like this guy and build a whole new machine and still be concidered amateur? Either way great work here!

[@RMX7777]

The only difference between a professional and an amateur is the professional does the work in return for pay.

[@byronco4917]

Amateur scientist my ass! these are full-blown geniuses!

[@personalracingday4563]

i coulda swore i saw a 12 year old do this in the news and the feds had to come decontaminate the neighborhood

[@jenabadiano5710]

and each time no matter what happens, you end up learning something. ❤

[@davelydon1982]

Amazing 👍

[@4doorsformorelore813]

I'm going to have to agree with Mundy here, our problem hasn't been really making fusion per say, but it's similar to the "Cold Fusion Race" back in the 90s, which was an interesting point I'm history little people know about, but that's still observable In physics; we need a net gain from fusion, and the only time we've gotten close was with quack science or projects so expensive they'll never recoup the cost, and have never produced significant energy to do so. I do respect his setup and desire to build and develop this, but at the same time, I would like to see his papers. I'd argue that they're much more interesting than his reactor, if he's worth his weight in math.

[@Ironman829]

They were extracting Bismuth metal crystalline structures from molten Bismuth. Same metal that's in pepto bismol. Our class did this either freshman or sophomore year in high school.

[@dominicle9831]

Richard Hull was able to build this in his backyard! With a box of scraps!

[@SciHeartJourney]

The guys are amazing! I'm in LA, but I feel like his backyard is my "Graceland": I must visit his fair!

[@janganliatchannelini]

Love the spirit, establish from pure love of what they love to do, the environment they create is so independent because of the pureness, good for education, good for young people to learn, the knowledge that still pure out of bad people and capitalism

[@tellydianadayondon6534]

The best thing to do in life is sleep grandpa.😁✌️

[@gobravo123]

This Amateur Physicist is not an amateur anymore

[@whiderboss]

"Are you sure you could stabilize the fusion reaction?"

[@mannehnasalimata1249]

This is my passion

[@philipcooper8297]

David Hahn approves this message.

[@kacimara100]

Wow it was amazing

[@jamesdillon5862]

I never going to let my wife see this video, she gets excited when I finally mown her he lawn. Don't need her raising the bar.

[@RealSalica]

That's amazing !