Arrested for reactor building - What type?

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Richard Hull
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Arrested for reactor building - What type?

Post by Richard Hull »

I guess we are lucky most of us live in the U.S.

This piece was picked up by Fox and there is little info., as usual.

http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/08/ ... test=faces

There are also links to the older Suppes article.

Richard Hull
Progress may have been a good thing once, but it just went on too long. - Yogi Berra
Fusion is the energy of the future....and it always will be
The more complex the idea put forward by the poor amateur, the more likely it will never see embodiment
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Re: Arrested for reactor building - What type?

Post by richnormand »

Fox.....
Last edited by richnormand on Mon Apr 29, 2013 11:40 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Arrested for reactor building - What type?

Post by Hector »

Follow the link that says Blog on the Fox article and then find the video he mentions on Youtube that he used as a reference. That video is hilarious. It's like Mr. Wizard meets SNL.

This guy shows a picture of his failed attempt at combining radioactive materials on his stove top, which consequently blew up on him and made a mess everywhere. This guy should be a Darwin award nominee.


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Richard Hull
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Re: Arrested for reactor building - What type?

Post by Richard Hull »

Fox , Reuters, AP they are all the exactly same... and all ran this story, of course.

It's big news! Amazing and titilating..... Any news organization would be foolish not to post this to all their equally foolish and dumbed down adherents seeking titilation linked to inate fears.

Hey, it's a great sound bite with a sensational title and it is now on the pile of all the other old sound bites, now long forgotten.

Richard Hull
Progress may have been a good thing once, but it just went on too long. - Yogi Berra
Fusion is the energy of the future....and it always will be
The more complex the idea put forward by the poor amateur, the more likely it will never see embodiment
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Re: Arrested for reactor building - What type?

Post by tligon »

And my understanding is that he was boiling the brew in sulfuric acid. I have no doubt there was no significant nuclear reaction going on, just a boiling acid accident.

The brew seems to have contained an alpha emitter (americium) and beryllium, so I suppose there were a few neutrons produced ... possibly this tickled a few atoms to cook off in the radium.

Here is a second-hand report I received:

From Reuters:


STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - A Swedish man was arrested after he tried to build a nuclear reactor in his kitchen and documented his efforts on the Internet, authorities and the man said Thursday.

Richard Handl, 31, from Angelholm in southern Sweden, gathered materials including smoke detectors, clock and watch hands and via purchases on the Internet.

"I was just curious to see if it was possible, it is just a hobby," said Handl, currently unemployed but previously a worker in a ventilation systems factory.

He documented his efforts on a blog and his Facebook page.

He got as far as mixing some ingredients on a cooker -- americium, radium, beryllium and 96 percent sulphuric acid.

"The boiling explosion was about 3 or 4 months ago and the police came two weeks ago," he said.

After the incident, which he tagged "The Meltdown" on his blog, he said he "cleaned up the mess on the cooker and then I bought some more radium and continued the experiment."
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Re: Arrested for reactor building - What type?

Post by Hector »

I heard on NPR that after his little "meltdown", he wrote to the local nuclear regulatory authorities asking for help with his mess. You got to love this guy. LOL


Hector
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