Practically a wunderkind, Hahn began studying chemistry at age 10 and had fabricated nitroglycerin by 14. Before attempting to build his reactor, Hahn tarnished his bedroom with his experiments, so his parents moved his work to their basement, before settling on the shed. Hahn gathered information by contacting the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, hoping to gain insight into the steps of building a breeder reactor. In most cases, Hahn was able to gather the info he needed with the help of aliases and cover stories...
utilizing household items and a lead block as a stand-in reactor, Hahn got to work. He collected thorium from lanterns, radium from clocks, tritium from gunsights, and lithium from $1,000 worth of batteries he bought himself. Hahn also employed coffee filters and pickle jars to handle dangerous and potentially deadly chemicals. The lack of protection, save for his gas mask, tragically, was later said to have affected Hahn’s life expectancy...
When the experiment met its threshold, Hahn had created a crude neutron source. While unable to produce fissionable fuel at the rate of other reactors, the the Boy Scout’s experiment was already spreading detectable radiation several houses away...
Hahn served in both the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps, but only found new complications with mental health as he grew older.
A real-life Dexter’s Lab.