Young scientist heading to Chicago

Mbombela - Thabiso Msimanga, a promising young inventor from Standerton, Mpumalanga, is heading to Chicago in the US in May after beating 50 other inventors in a national science competition.

The 20-year-old Msimanga won the House of Le Roux Science Competition on 3 December after inventing a new way of generating electricity using molten rock from Hawaii and extract from an aloe plant.

"At first when I entered and heard there were 50 other science students, I didn't think I would stand a chance," said Msimanga.

Msimanga started a chemical reaction between the molten rock and the aloe extract, which was used to power a small electric motor.

He will showcase this and other inventions to US companies in the hope that they will buy them.

"I was amazed when they awarded me with this trip. I'm a little nervous about it as I will be going to a different country and will be with total strangers but it’s a great chance for me to become successful," Msimanga said.

The young scientist, who only studied business and accounting subjects at Springs Technical High School, got his inspiration from TV.

"I would see famous scientists working on experiments but failing along the way. That’s where I got curious and wanted to continue from where they left off," Msimanga said.

Msimanga is currently working to complete an unfinished experiment from world-renowned scientist Nikola Tesla, who wanted to prove that electricity could be transferred from one point to another without wires.

"The experiment uses an electric circuit, and the magnetic fields created can jump to a coil not connected to the circuit, sending electrical energy through the air," said Msimanga.

He'd like to become one of the world's recognised scientists.

"I want other students to study my theories and have my experiments used in science textbooks," he said.