The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 6 plus 6 letter word BUNSEN BURNER
I've seen this crossword clue in The Daily Telegraph
B
U
N
S
E
N
B
U
R
N
E
R
More clues leading to the result BUNSEN BURNER
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Something to get a science student fired up" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case something to get a science student fired up = bunsen burner.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.