element dutarium. where do you buy it. >> in new jersey. >> reporter: so you bought it in new jersey. >> yeah. and they fedex it over. >> reporter: after a series of steps, he makes fusion. he says it happens inside that tube, with a glowing purple star. some people might just imagine jerry lewis in the lab, you know, the crazy scientist. is that who you are? >> minus the hair. >> reporter: he just might be a little crazy. but he is passionate about changing the world. and so how would you like to go down in the history books? >> i want to go down as the progenitor of the fusion era. >> reporter: his next step? raising 200 to $400 million to build a bigger reactor, the kind you need to solve a scientific problem that no trained physicist has managed to do in 50 years. carol costello, cnn, washington. and hello again, everyone. i'm tony harris. top of the hour in the cnn