Another "do-it-himself" nuclear scientist

**USSWisconsin** · 03 Aug 11,, 20:23

A while ago I heard about a kid trying to do something like this in the US for a Boy Scout project - it was a similar story:

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.

From now on - might not be that long - he has probably taken a few dozen years off of his "mortal coil" with all that nice hot stuff he exposed himself too. Perhaps he should take up herb gardening and healing arts...

**bonehead** · 04 Aug 11,, 03:57

A little knowledge is dangerous. No?

I hope he didn't radiate others with his project.

**ace16807** · 04 Aug 11,, 07:30

His blog: Richard's Reactor

Really? Your reaction chamber was a pot on a stove? High school chemistry students generally know better than that...

**Chogy** · 04 Aug 11,, 13:56

I empathise with him, to a point.

Remember when a kid would open up a cool present on Christmas, and it was a chemistry set? A REAL chemistry set? Not a "magic grow crystals" kit, but a set with real chemicals in little glas bottles. These have gone the way of the dodo. These sets created a love of science and a thirst for research, prompting perhaps millions of kids to pursue a degree.

The "home scientist" is a thing of the past. And I have to ask why this is. Is it because we have the (incorrect) view that only a mega-corporation can contribute to the body of science? There are niche home scientists that can and do produce excellent work. But the problem today is that if you say "home chemist" to someone, what two words do people immediately think of? I'll tell you.
.
.
.
.
Drugs... and Bombs. That is the impression people have of a home chemist. It is a shame.

A while back, I was working on a project that called for some basic reagents. Nothing exotic, no obvious drug precursors, but I found that chemicals were almost impossible to obtain. When I attempted to order, I was told "We only ship to corporations or institutions." Translation - "We think you are making drugs or bombs, so bugger off."

So yes I feel badly for the guy. The independent researcher/scientist is 99.9% extinct.

**astralis** · 04 Aug 11,, 14:12

chogy,

BTW, it's been going extinct for the last 100 years. the "home scientist" which you mention actually originates from a model, the "anglo-saxon" model of science. this was highly popular during the British Empire era (if you ever read Sherlock Holmes, you see Holmes is a huge home chemist).

but since the early 1900s, the "germanic" model of university lab science has dominated. it's a more efficient way of doing things, although very generally speaking the model is much more suited to steady incremental growth than sudden bursts of innovation.

and as you mention, takes some of the spark outta things.

**USSWisconsin** · 04 Aug 11,, 16:24

onsdagen den 3:e augusti 2011110803 - International News
I saw in the Newspaper Hesingbors Dagblad, that Fow News has noticed my little project.

Swedish Man Builds Nuclear Reactor in His Kitchen - FoxNews.com

Som more news:

Man Arrested Before He Can Finish His Kitchen Nuclear Reactor
Swedish Man Detained For Building Nuclear Reactor In Kitchen
Swedish man detained for building nuclear reactor in kitchen | News.com.au
Swedish man detained for building nuclear reactor in kitchen | The Australian
Upplagd av Richard's Reactor kl. 00:36 31 kommentarer Skicka med e-post
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måndagen den 1:e augusti 2011110802 - My reactor in the news
It has been written about me in many swedish newspaper, and I even heard it on the radio. Some of the articles. In swedish only.

Försökte bygga kärnreaktor i lägenhet - hd.se
Försökte bygga kärnreaktor i lägenheten - Sverige - Sydsvenskan - Nyheter dygnet runt
Tänkte bygga kärnreaktor i köket - Lokalt - Skånskan.se
Ville bygga kärnreaktor hemma i lägenheten - DN.SE
Tänkte bygga kärnreaktor i köket - Sverige - www.gp.se
Man försökte bygga kärnreaktor i sin lägenhet | Feber / Pryl
Tänkte bygga kärnreaktor i köket - Lokalt - NorraSkåne.se
Tänkte bygga kärnreaktor i köket - rapport | svt.se
31-åring greps för bygge av kärnreaktor i köket - KVP.se - Senaste nytt | Expressen - Nyheter Sport Ekonomi Nöje
Tänkte bygga kärnreaktor i köket - Nyheterna.se - Sveriges nyhetskanal på nätet - nyheterna.se
Upplagd av Richard's Reactor kl. 22:05 10 kommentarer Skicka med e-post
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fredagen den 22:e juli 2011110722 - 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!
Upplagd av Richard's Reactor kl. 14:08 18 kommentarer Skicka med e-post
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lördagen den 21:e maj 2011110521 - "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...

110515 - The geiger-counter
It is always good to have a geiger-counter, a tool to measure ionizing radiation. I have a geiger-counter from Imagesco:

Digital Geiger Counter with RS-232 Serial Output

But I think there is something wrong with it, because some times it wouldn't react on high radiation.

This guy knew enough to be very dangerous - but not enough to do what he was doing

A geiger counter doesn't measure high radiation levels - it saturates at those levels - he needed an ionization detector...

**rickshaw92** · 05 Aug 11,, 10:41

Atom splitting in my kitchen was a hobby, man tells Swedish police
Richard Handl claims he had radium, americium and uranium in his flat because he wanted to see if experiment was possible

Atom splitting in my kitchen was a hobby, man tells Swedish police | World news | The Guardian

A Swedish man has been arrested on charges of unauthorised possession of nuclear material after trying to split atoms in his flat. Photograph: David Woodfall/Getty Images
A Swedish man arrested on charges of unauthorised possession of nuclear material after trying to split atoms in his kitchen says he was only doing it as a hobby.

Richard Handl said he had the radioactive elements radium, americium and uranium in his flat in southern Sweden when the police showed up.

He said on Wednesday he had always been interested in physics and chemistry and "just wanted to see if it was possible to split atoms at home".

Handl kept a blog about his experiments, describing how he created a small meltdown on his stove.

Only later did he realise it might not be legal and sent a question to Sweden's radiation authority, which sent the police.

Detectives have declined to comment on the raid, which took place in late July. If convicted Handl could face fines or up to two years in prison.