Man arrested for trying to build nuclear reactor in kitchen

[Council Baby]

As per title, now I know nothing about nuclear physics but this sounds a bit out there. I know from past threads that there are some people on here who know about this stuff, can someone lay this out in laymans terms, dangers etc??

Cheers

Story:

http://mashable.com/2011/08/04/man-arrested-split-...

http://richardsreactor.blogspot.com/ - his blog

[KrazyIvan]

Cool, one wrong step and he becomes a superhero/super villan

I wonder what he would have done, had it got it all working, as free electricity for the whole town might have raised a few suspicions at the local enegry companies

[hairykrishna]

He'd basically made, or was on the way to making, a neutron emitter by mixing something that gives off alpha particles with beryllium. He going to then use this to irradiate Thorium or Uranium 238 to breed fissile material (the stuff that powers real reactors or bombs) - a tiny breeder reactor basically. Unfortunately/fortunately he had so little Americium (the alpha emitter), which he'd taken from smoke alarms, and radium that he wouldn't be producing many neutrons and he was unlikely to ever breed more than a few atoms of fissile material.

If he was careful this would be nothing more than a totally harmless curiosity. Similar on the danger scale to what we let undergraduates play with happily. Unfortunately, judging from his blog, he was a bit cavalier with his alpha particle emitters. If he breathed much of that in it won't be all that good for him. Again though, the amounts are so small I doubt that he's done himself any major damage.

Edited by hairykrishna on Thursday 4th August 12:38

[Uncle Fester]

been done before
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Hahn

[hairykrishna]

Uncle Fester said:

been done before
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Hahn

Two students did it at the University of Chicago, as an item for the scavenger hunt, too. There's nothing at all technically difficult about it.

[phumy]

He would need a sizeable mass of uranium and a decent sized moderator to slow the atoms to get them to collide. The moderator composition would depend on the type of uranium used to get this lot to go "critical". Maybe something could be cibblrf up in a large-ish sized wheely bin. Not sure i would want to be anywhere near it though.

[Digga]

I like this story. A lot.

I'm picturing the guy wearing one of those brown overcoats. If that was the case, he'd have been perfectly safe.

[Council Baby]

Digga said:

I like this story. A lot.

I'm picturing the guy wearing one of those brown overcoats. If that was the case, he'd have been perfectly safe.

It's a shame that it's not quite as out there as it sounds. I had all sorts of pictures of mad scientists going through my mind. The cynic in me thought otherwise though.

Cheers for the info HK

[Ozzie Osmond]

Well, building it in his kitchen doesn't sound any more daft than the Japanese building theirs on a beach - in the middle of a severe earthquake zone!

[Digga]

Ozzie Osmond said:

Well, building it in his kitchen doesn't sound any more daft than the Japanese building theirs on a beach - in the middle of a severe earthquake zone!

As long as he kept it away from the chip pan.

[Eric Mc]

He's not called Dr Emmett Brown by any chance?

[V88Dicky]

Perhaps he was trying to build one of these?


















Damn it! Beaten by Eric!

[Eric Mc]

Snap

[Stevenj214]

I just love the matter-of-factness about his arrest:

Blog said:

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!

[dougc]

news.com.au said:

Police in the western town of Angelholm were alerted when he contacted Sweden's nuclear authority and asked if it was permitted for an individual to build a nuclear reactor in his home.

[Council Baby]

dougc said:

news.com.au said:

Police in the western town of Angelholm were alerted when he contacted Sweden's nuclear authority and asked if it was permitted for an individual to build a nuclear reactor in his home.

That bit did raise a proper chuckle.

Now he can argue that he really thought that what he was doing was above board and he even approached the authorities for advice when he wasn't sure of the legalities

It's my defence your honour

I can't wait to find out how this ends up!

[Hooli]

Has anyone heard from Pigeon lately?

[Mikeyboy]

Oh I love people like this. They are the sort of people who in the 17th Century went on to create the royal society here.
Still I suspect his neighbous wouldn't be too keen on being irraiated by his experiments.

[Digga]

I suspect this may be what results when you give a 3yr old a chemistry set for Christmas.

[Eric Mc]

Hooli said:

Has anyone heard from Pigeon lately?

Even worse, it might have been Emsman.