The Boy Who Played with Fusion
Extreme Science, Extreme Parenting, and How to Make a Star
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Narrated by:
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P. J. Ochlan
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By:
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Tom Clynes
About this listen
This is the story of how an American teenager became the youngest person ever to build a working nuclear fusion reactor.
By the age of nine, Taylor Wilson had mastered the science of rocket propulsion. At 11 his grandmother's cancer diagnosis drove him to investigate new ways to produce medical isotopes. And by 14 Wilson had built a 500-million-degree reactor and become the youngest person in history to achieve nuclear fusion. How could someone so young achieve so much, and what can Wilson's story teach parents and teachers about how to support high-achieving kids?
In The Boy Who Played with Fusion, science journalist Tom Clynes narrates Taylor's extraordinary journey - from his Arkansas home, where his parents fully supported his intellectual passions; to a unique Reno, Nevada, public high school just for academic superstars; to the present, when now 19-year-old Wilson is winning international science competitions with devices designed to prevent terrorists from shipping radioactive material into the country. Along the way Clynes reveals how our education system shortchanges gifted students - and what we can do to fix it.
©2015 Tom Clynes (P)2015 Blackstone Audio, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
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The Radioactive Boy Scout
- The Frightening True Story of a Whiz Kid and His Homemade Nuclear Reactor
- By: Ken Silverstein
- Narrated by: Jonathan Todd Ross
- Length: 6 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Growing up in suburban Detroit, David Hahn was fascinated by science. While he was working on his Atomic Energy badge for the Boy Scouts, David's obsessive attention turned to nuclear energy. Throwing caution to the wind, he plunged into a new project: building a model nuclear reactor in his backyard garden shed. Posing as a physics professor, David solicited information on reactor design from the US government and from industry experts. Following blueprints he found in an outdated physics textbook, David cobbled together a crude device that threw off toxic levels of radiation.
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Interesting story
- By Kevin Gunter on 07-16-19
By: Ken Silverstein
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The Friendly Orange Glow
- The Untold Story of the PLATO System and the Dawn of Cyberculture
- By: Brian Dear
- Narrated by: George Newbern
- Length: 21 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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At a time when Steve Jobs was only a teenager and Mark Zuckerberg wasn't even born, a group of visionary engineers and designers - some of them only high school students - in the late 1960s and 1970s created a computer system called PLATO, which was not only years but light-years ahead in experimenting with how people would learn, engage, communicate, and play through connected computers.
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Memory lane for the cyberist.
- By Robert C. Hickcox on 08-08-18
By: Brian Dear
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The Chaos Imperative
- How Chance and Disruption Increase Innovation, Effectiveness, and Success
- By: Ori Brafman, Judah Pollack
- Narrated by: Drew Birdseye
- Length: 4 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Ori Brafman and management consultant Judah Pollack dramatically demonstrate how even the best and most efficient organizations - from Fortune 500 companies to today's US Army - can become more innovative by allowing a little unstructured space and "contained chaos" into their planning and decision-making. Through their consulting work, they realized that while structure and hierarchy are essential both in large corporations and small groups, too much of either can stifle creativity.
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a must read!!
- By Kelly Pavich on 05-26-19
By: Ori Brafman, and others
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Sally Ride
- America's First Woman in Space
- By: Lynn Sherr
- Narrated by: Pam Ward
- Length: 13 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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A member of the first astronaut class to include women, NASA chose her for the seventh shuttle mission, inspiring several generations of women. After a second flight, Ride served on the panels investigating the Challenger explosion and the Columbia disintegration that killed all aboard. In both instances, she faulted NASA's rush to meet mission deadlines and its organizational failures. She also cofounded a company promoting science and education for children, especially girls.
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Captivating
- By Jean on 06-12-14
By: Lynn Sherr
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Hood
- Trailblazer of the Genomics Age
- By: Luke Timmerman, David Baltimore
- Narrated by: Xe Sands
- Length: 10 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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Lee Hood did that rarest of things. He enabled scientists to see things they couldn't see before and do things they hadn't dreamed of doing. Scientists can now sequence complete human genomes in a day, setting in motion a revolution that is personalizing medicine. Hood, a son of the American West, was an unlikely candidate to transform biology. But with ferocious drive, he led a team at Caltech that developed the automated DNA sequencer, the tool that paved the way for the Human Genome Project.
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A Revealing Biography
- By Jean on 07-27-17
By: Luke Timmerman, and others
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A Mind at Play
- How Claude Shannon Invented the Information Age
- By: Rob Goodman, Jimmy Soni
- Narrated by: Jonathan Yen
- Length: 11 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Claude Shannon was a tinkerer, a playful wunderkind, a groundbreaking polymath, and a digital pioneer whose insights made the Information Age possible. He constructed fire-breathing trumpets and customized unicycles, outfoxed Vegas casinos, and built juggling robots, but he also wrote the seminal text of the Digital Revolution. That work allowed scientists to measure and manipulate information as objectively as any physical object. His work gave mathematicians and engineers the tools to bring that world to pass.
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I wanted more information about Information Theory
- By Bonny on 05-08-18
By: Rob Goodman, and others
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How the Laser Happened
- Adventures of a Scientist
- By: Charles H. Townes
- Narrated by: Keith Sellon-Wright
- Length: 8 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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In How the Laser Happened, Nobel laureate Charles Townes provides a highly personal look at some of the leading events in 20th-century physics. This lively memoir, packed with firsthand accounts and historical anecdotes, is an invaluable resource for anyone interested in the history of science and an inspiring example for students considering scientific careers.
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Great for aspiring physicists
- By James S. on 10-06-18
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Ingenious
- A True Story of Invention, Automotive Daring, and the Race to Revive America
- By: Jason Fagone
- Narrated by: Adam Verner
- Length: 12 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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In 2007, the X Prize Foundation announced that it would give $10 million to anyone who could build a safe, mass-producible car that could travel one hundred miles on the energy equivalent of a gallon of gas. The challenge attracted more than one hundred teams from all over the world, including dozens of amateurs. Many designed their cars entirely from scratch, rejecting decades of thinking about what a car should look like.
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Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels.
- By Shamu from New York on 12-07-13
By: Jason Fagone
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Chasing Space
- An Astronaut's Story of Grit, Grace, and Second Chances
- By: Leland Melvin
- Narrated by: Ron Butler
- Length: 7 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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Leland Melvin is the only person in human history to catch a pass in the National Football League and in space. Though his path from the gridiron to the heavens was riddled with setbacks and injury, Leland persevered to reach the stars. While training with NASA, Melvin suffered a severe injury that left him deaf. Leland was relegated to earthbound assignments but chose to remain and support his astronaut family. His loyalty paid off. Recovering partial hearing, he earned his eligibility for space travel.
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A Must Listen to for any Space Enthusiast!
- By B.A. Lopez on 01-11-20
By: Leland Melvin
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The Disappearing Spoon
- And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements
- By: Sam Kean
- Narrated by: Sean Runnette
- Length: 12 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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Reporter Sam Kean reveals the periodic table as it’s never been seen before. Not only is it one of man's crowning scientific achievements, it's also a treasure trove of stories of passion, adventure, betrayal, and obsession. The infectious tales and astounding details in The Disappearing Spoon follow carbon, neon, silicon, and gold as they play out their parts in human history, finance, mythology, war, the arts, poison, and the lives of the (frequently) mad scientists who discovered them.
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Great Book, Great Narration, But...
- By Henny Button on 09-18-10
By: Sam Kean
What listeners say about The Boy Who Played with Fusion
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Nicholas Weeks
- 08-22-20
interesting insight to a bright child
It is a good look into childhood genius and his story. The ideas of how to best encourage intellectual children seemed helpful too
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1 person found this helpful
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- zachary
- 07-04-22
Worth Your Time
This was a very interesting, well told story. Definitely worth putting in your library, the fact that it’s in the plus catalogue is even better
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- Kay
- 11-18-19
Great Listen. I enjoyed it!
I thought this was an enjoyable and informative read/ listen. Although some might consider it to be largely science based, one can understand why because the person the book was describing is gifted in physics. There is a lot of valuable information to consider when trying to encourage and support your kid's interest, whether gifted or not. The book also highlights the serious socioeconomic and education failings of today and how kids are often confined within the box which can result in serious implications and loss of interest.
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- Dell
- 06-20-15
Science thriller
That anyone can do the things in this book is amazing. For a teenager to do them requires reexamination of standard views of education. The fact that shop courses are no longer part of standard curriculum needs to be changed.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Kindle Customer
- 10-23-20
Absolutely profound!
Incredible story, superb storytelling, and beautifully narrated. This one is truly a masterpiece and one that I will refer back to time and time again.
The author finishes with this quote "Taylor built a star, then he became one. Now he's lighting up the world." That sums up the details of the book that everyone should take the time to hear/read from start to finish. Buy this one, it's worth more than they are asking. The value is in the lessons of parenting;--considering the sibling dynamic as well.
The only critique that I have for this is that it should be whispersynced with the book. Both are available and I purchased the book after hearing it in full, but they need to be synced. I personally prefer to highlight takeaway word segments than to bookmark audio clips.
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- O'Connor Fam
- 10-24-20
Inspiring and insightful
Well read. My family of six listened to this, with my oldest , an 11 year old boy, most inspired. The story was told in such a manner that I was taken in with amazement of experiments and achievements. It has inspired me to parent better, and be a bit more “forward thinking” with education/experimentation in my children’s interests. I have recommended this highly on Facebook. I wonder what Taylor is up to now.
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- SteveC
- 04-23-20
What a great story! Unbelievable. Inspiring.
I couldn't stop thinking the whole time. What an amazing young man. Incredible story. Makes me think about how to be a better parent!
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- James Forehand
- 09-27-18
child prodigy
loved it. interestinģ story of young talent. might save the energy crisis?
read this booķ.
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- MrRedBeard
- 10-10-15
Great Details and Crazy Events
I love every aspect of this book. I wanted to be this kid when I was young and I kinda want to again after listening.
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- Carina Johannessen
- 09-28-20
A parents must read
I wish I had known Of this book years ago. Having smart but floundering and unchallenged kids in a traditional school system can be aggravating. Finding ways in which I can better challenge & advocate for not only my kiddos learning but for the kids I come across at work as well.
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1 person found this helpful