Joseph Rossman started building his Tesla coil during Christmas break
, but his interests diverted him to rocketry. He set up a makeshift
chemistry lab to create rocket fuel. Kyle Clayton photo.

When Haines High School junior Joseph Rossman, 17, was about 8-years old he asked his father a question: “If I fall through a hole in the earth, will I stop in the middle because of gravity on the other side, or will I…