Swede Arrested For Atom Smashing at Home

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A Swedish man was arrested for attempting to create a nuclear reactor in his kitchen, claiming it was a hobby. While he acknowledged the potential illegality of his actions, the discussion highlights concerns about safety and the implications of such experiments. The incident sparked comparisons to other amateur scientists and raised questions about the prevalence of individualistic pursuits in the age of free information. Experts noted that his experiments did not resemble a chain reaction and were less dangerous than many chemistry experiments, although they could have dispersed radioactive materials. The media hype surrounding the terms "nuclear" and "fission" contributed to public alarm.
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http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_SWEDEN_NUCLEAR?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-08-03-11-33-45

STOCKHOLM (AP) -- A Swedish man who was arrested after trying to split atoms in his kitchen said Wednesday he was only doing it as a hobby.
 
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At least he had the flash to wonder if it might be illegal (i would have first wondered if what I was doing was safe, though).
 
The Register has an article including a photo of his 'reactor'.

Incredible.

Article:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/08/02/diy_swedish_nuclear_reactor/"

The photo of the 'reactor'
swedish_reactor.jpg

source: Helsingborgs Dagblad
 
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He tried for the Nobel Prize but got the Darwin Award!
 
How many more undiscovered ones are out there?
 
skeptic2 said:
How many more undiscovered ones are out there?

One would like to hope that solitary mad scientists would be few. But in this age of individualism, democracy, free-enterprise and free information from the internet, one must probably expect more.

PS: Congratulations on your 1000th post, skeptic2!

Respectfully submitted,
Steve
 
Thanks, I hadn't even noticed!
 
Anyone know the link to this guy's blog? It would be interesting to see what type of experiments he was trying to do.
 
  • #10
Sheets said:
Anyone know the link to this guy's blog? It would be interesting to see what type of experiments he was trying to do.

http://http://richardsreactor.blogspot.com/
 
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  • #11
Radium to emit alphas, beryllium hit by alphas to produce neutrons, americium absorbing neutrons to split.

So: nothing resembling a chain reaction. It's provoked fission, as physicists did nearly a century ago.

Mixing all metals in hot sulphuric acid may have produced a hydrogen explosion, but they were more probably ceramics, and not even the glass is broken. More of a concern, the incident can have dispersed radioactive material - chips, not fumes. It must be similar to a fire in a store selling smoke detectors.

To my eyes, a game hazardous within a very limited range, with consequences essentially for the experimenter, less dangerous than many chemistry experiments - and made without the necessary precautions, I'd say. The hype comes only from the words "nuclear" and "fission", which impacted police, media and the public.
 

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