There is a book about this incident by the same title. It's been so long since I've read it that I don't remember if it was any good.<p>I got my atomic energy merit badge as a teen, though I was content to make my model reactor out of K'Nex.
David, the lad in this tale, has since been diagnosed with mental illness and arrested for stealing smoke detectors.<p>Sadly, things didn't turn out as well as they could have for someone with so much drive.