[maginx]

Probably what was built was a Fusor. There's tons of instructions how to build one (https://fusor.net/board/) and seemingly there's a lot of focus on how "young" the builders of such are. Just google: fusion reactor teenager. In some of the stories it become apparent the fusor was never actually even finished but just along the way.

https://newsforkids.net/articles/2024/09/04/16-year-old-stud... https://online.kidsdiscover.com/quickread/arkansas-teen-buil... https://interestingengineering.com/energy/nuclear-fusion-rea... ...