Swedish Guy Has Nuclear Meltdown In His Kitchen

[dewolf]

A SWEDISH man who was arrested after trying to split atoms in his kitchen says he was only doing it as a hobby.

Richard Handl overnight said 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 unauthorised 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 realise 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.

[livi]

And here I am!

[billybek]

Originally Posted by livi

And here I am!

That....
Little Canadian whiskey in the nostrils.... It burns, it burns.....

[slodave]

Jeez. Glad I never reported any of my incidents.

[Kroggers]

Apart from the danger aspects related to this, I think it is rather funny

[Flieger]

What is more stupid? The whole kitchen nuclear reactor idea in the first place, or turning yourself in?

What was he going to do with the fission once he got it?

[slodave]

Originally Posted by Flieger

What was he going to do with the fission once he got it?

Power the fridge and get off grid. Duh.

[livi]

Typical Asperger individual.

[jeffgrant]

If he was an Aussie, I'd say he was just trying to split the beer atom.

[livi]

By the way. Please note that this guy lives only 6 miles from my home. The city of Ängelholm.

[vas930]

Originally Posted by jeffgrant

if he was an aussie, i'd say he was just trying to split the beer atom.

+1

[rusnak]

He was going for a shroom cloud. Shoulda tried it in Amsterdam.

[304065]

Reminds me of a Duran Duran song:

"Come on over to my place/Playing with Uranium/If it blows up in your face/See you on the other side. . . ."

[Tervuren]

Originally Posted by rusnak

He was going for a shroom cloud. Shoulda tried it in Amsterdam.

No, he was just going for a reaction, a shroom cloud takes a huge chuck all going off at once. The first known human made reactor was in a basketball court btw.

[red-beard]

We split atoms in a lab. We had lots of shielding and had to wear radation badges. This nutball is simply an idiot.

[Jim Richards]

Ya gotta love this fella's entrepreneurial spirit.

[rusnak]

My ex cooked like him. She thought the smoke detector was a kitchen timer.

[Flieger]

Originally Posted by Tervuren

No, he was just going for a reaction, a shroom cloud takes a huge chuck all going off at once. The first known human made reactor was in a basketball court btw.

Yeah, but Fermi used a graphite moderator, not olive oil on a kitchen stove.

Enrico Fermi - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[URY914]

So how do you split atoms at home?

Use a really sharp knife?

[andyt11]

Originally Posted by rusnak

She thought the smoke detector was a kitchen timer.

thats pretty damn funny!