Quote:

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. Richard Handl told The Associated Press that he had the radioactive elements radium, americium and uranium in his apartment in southern Sweden when police showed up and arrested him on charges of unauthorized possession of nuclear material. The 31-year-old Handl said he had tried for months to set up a nuclear reactor at home and kept a blog about his experiments, describing how he created a small meltdown on his stove. Only later did he realize it might not be legal and sent a question to Sweden's Radiation Authority, which answered by sending the police. "I have always been interested in physics and chemistry," Handl said, adding he just wanted to "see if it's possible to split atoms at home." The police raid took place in late July, but police have refused to comment. If convicted, Handl could face fines or up to two years in prison. Although he says police didn't detect dangerous levels of radiation in his apartment, he now acknowledges the project wasn't such a good idea. "From now on, I will stick to the theory," he said.

Wouldnt this guy be awesome to sit and BS with?!?!

Lol ive never tried the reactor, but ive made some odd things in the kitchen LMAO!!!
(like Nebraska's biggest smoke bomb :puzzled: )
(actually was made outside... far away from any structures, but the word epic comes to mind)

Wow...

It was the size of 2 cool whip containers, and went for 10mins....... Could be seen from miles away...... Lol I was bad in my youth

I always had a knack for science/chemistry

at least he called! a glitch in his progress. next time that might not happen. focus tends to blind ,

glad he had the presence of mind to call this time. this action (being authentic)probably will get him a job. more likely fired!

access to materials without knowledge is unlikely. but stuff falls out of the sky ALL the time

That's just downright hilarious. You would think since he contacted them that they wouldn't come down hard on him.

Drew, I used to make all kinds of explosives in my younger days. Would probably be labeled a terrorists or something in todays climate. Loved to blow things up or otherwise propel objects across the sky...make loud noises etc. Rather odd is that as strict as my parents were, they didn't seem to bother with the explosions in my bedroom....go figure.
To this day I have black marks imbedded in my skin from a silver acetalyde explosion that went awry.

Reminds me of the "Radioactive Boyscout" David Hahn

http://www.dangerouslaboratories.org/radscout.html

Ditto on the WOW!

Given the strange and scary things posted to YouTube, I suspect there is a lot going on in people's backyards and basements. A quick perusal of YouTube will turn up homemade:

• Railguns
  
• Flame Gloves
  
• Some truly impressive (and a little bit scary) RPGs
  
• Home made pulse laser
  
• Working 22LR pen gun
  
• The list is quite literally endless.

We live in a country where even the selling/distribution of tritium is heavily regulated, but a lot of stuff still flies under the radar with alarming frequency.

Here's the part that I think is strange. YouTube hunts down DRM violations with almost StormTrooper efficiency.... and yet none of Google's spiders caught the stuff that the guy was posting to his blog (hosted by Google). You would think that a blog named "Richard's Reactor" should have set up some alarms.... His first meltdown occurred on May 21st, 2011..... ooops.

His blog is over here:
Richard's Reactor

My favoriter entries:
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110521 - "The Meltdown"

A meltdown on my cooker!!!



No, it not so dangerous. But I tried to cook Americium, Radium and Beryllium in 96% sulphuric-acid, to easier get them blended. But the whole thing exploded upp in the air...

Of cource I thrown away my pills at the left side, and I didn't drink the juice-syryp in the right.

110722 - Project canceled!
Wednesday, I was arrested and sent to jail, when the police and the Swedish Radiation Safety Authory searched my apartment. They took all my radioactive stuff, but I was released after a hearing. But I am still suspekt for crime against the radiation safety law.

I was ordered by the police to get out of the building with my hands up, then three men came, with geiger-counters and searched me. Then I was placed in a police-car, when Radiation Safety Authory went into my apartment with very advanced measure-tools.

So, my project is canceled!

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ATB,
Sam

P.S. The story has gone viral. The most recent blog posting is a sampling of all the online news services that have picked up on the story. It is a truly impressive list that even some politicians would envy.

By the looks of that ashtray, Dude has been burning the midnight oil for a while. That's commitment !!!

I think there's more than a few of us who hold alumni cards to the University of KaBoom with a major in BSU and a minor in high velocity lawn dart kinematics.

This truly takes the cake. In my younger days a friend and I would make home made mortars that launched a ball hitch, different types of things that went ka-BOOM, and various other "fun filled projects", but this....this is off the charts. I'd love to meet the man just to say I have met one of the craziest @$?!$&@ out there!

must say if you could safly build a reactor in your home then wow. think of the possiblities. that could have turned out so much worse.

Drew I have a friend you may like to chat with. He is 84yrs old and is still taking collage courses. He has a degree in electrical engeneering. Plus after he invented the Electro maginet they use for the current mono rail in japan and also use it in MRI & CAT scaners, he was working for UTC as a sub-contractor and they took the patten on it so he went back to school got his law degree and sued them. He won all pattens and past and future revenue from his mechine. His name is George Yntema you can google him He is mostly deaf and an odd carector, but amazing to talk with. If you saw him on the street you would think he is a homeless old bagger. But he is a good man and friend.

:o

Shoot him my email! That is awesome!!!!