Swedish Man Builds Nuclear Reactor in His Kitchen

Post » Tue Dec 06, 2011 1:46 am

Swedish authorities have detained a man who attempted to build a nuclear reactor in his kitchen, Helsingborgs Dagblad reported Tuesday.

"I was arrested and sent to jail when the police and the Swedish Radiation Safety Authority searched my apartment," the unnamed nuclear enthusiast wrote on a blog detailing his project. "They took all my radioactive stuff, but I was released after a hearing. But I am still suspect for crime against the radiation safety law."

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.

The unnamed enthusiast brought radioactive materials, as well as a Geiger counter which he ordered from the US. He also dismantled smoke detectors, which contain small amounts of nuclear material.

A spokesman for the local city council told FoxNews.com that people in the city of Angelholm were largely unfazed by the potential nuclear reactor.

"The reactions I have encountered about citizens in Angelholm is that the whole thing seems innocent," Anders Clark told FoxNews.com. "Some have questioned his ability to feel a sense of responsibility, but I haven’t met any particular concern over the incident."

He posted requests for information online and posted photos of experiments in his kitchen. But his attempts to build a reactor fell some way short, he told the newspaper.

Not so the work of Mark Suppes, a New York web designer for fashion house Gucci who surprised his neighbors in June of 2010 by revealing he had built a nuclear reactor in a Brooklyn warehouse.


The 32-year-old amateur physicist constructed the $40,000 homemade fusion reactor in his spare time, and became the 38th independent physicist in the word to achieve nuclear fusion from a self-built reactor and forms part of a growing community of "fusioneers."

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/08/02/swedish-man-builds-nuclear-reactor-in-his-kitchen/#ixzz1U5pUEN5a


I wonder how hard it actually is to build one, and coming by the radioactive materials needed to get nuclear fusion...
Might have to try building one, just to become the 39th :whistling:

I'm still unsure if it's considered illegal or not... The consequences, if anything, could be quite dire. Or am I wrong?
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Tai Scott
 
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Post » Tue Dec 06, 2011 6:35 am

Thats pretty awesome. Aslong as he lives far away from others I dont see an issue. If its small how bad could it be ?
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Poetic Vice
 
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Post » Tue Dec 06, 2011 11:41 am

So he built a nuclear reactor so he will never again pay for electricity?
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chloe hampson
 
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Post » Tue Dec 06, 2011 12:56 am

As long as he has duct tape he should be fine.
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Jordan Moreno
 
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Post » Tue Dec 06, 2011 4:57 am

So he built a nuclear reactor so he will never again pay for electricity?


iirc you use the heat produced to vaporize water into steam that powers turbines - creating electricity. (may be completely wrong on this, too lazy to google)

I somehow doubt he has a turbine at home :sadvaultboy:
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Amy Cooper
 
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Post » Tue Dec 06, 2011 8:58 am

you don't have to have radio active material to build a reactor (at least not a functioning one) some people like to build the reactor minus the fuel.

btw, its actually really easy to aquire radio active materials, you don't have to go to the black market, you can go to your super malls and outlet stores.
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Cat
 
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Post » Tue Dec 06, 2011 1:34 am

Ronald Richter is not impressed.
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Rusty Billiot
 
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Post » Tue Dec 06, 2011 1:32 am

you don't have to have radio active material to build a reactor (at least not a functioning one) some people like to build the reactor minus the fuel.

btw, its actually really easy to aquire radio active materials, you don't have to go to the black market, you can go to your super malls and outlet stores.


But this guy achieved nuclear fusion, in his kitchen.
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Nina Mccormick
 
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Post » Tue Dec 06, 2011 7:07 am

you don't have to have radio active material to build a reactor (at least not a functioning one) some people like to build the reactor minus the fuel.

btw, its actually really easy to aquire radio active materials, you don't have to go to the black market, you can go to your super malls and outlet stores.


What ? Maybe its becuase I am in the UK, but I have NEVER heared about places selling radioactive material. Why would they ?
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Tessa Mullins
 
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Post » Tue Dec 06, 2011 5:19 am

But this guy achieved nuclear fusion, in his kitchen.


Fission (not fusion) isn't that hard to get. You pile enough radioactive crap together and it'll start to undergo natural spontaneous nuclear fission (as well as any number of other spontaneous decay reactions).

Now, how he planned on getting any usable power out of that pile of hot rocks is another matter. What was he going to do, put a pot of water on top of it and see if it boiled?
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Annick Charron
 
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Post » Mon Dec 05, 2011 10:06 pm

But this guy achieved nuclear fusion, in his kitchen.


the artical says he attempted.

what ever reactor he built you should remove the image you see in movies or in film of nuclear power plants because the reactor is just a part (a very critical part none the less) . you don't achieve fission with

the reactor alone, his kitchen would never be able to fit all of the equipment and machinery he would need to do that.
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Monika
 
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Post » Mon Dec 05, 2011 8:20 pm

Wonder why the story has been taken down?
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Charlotte Henderson
 
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Post » Mon Dec 05, 2011 9:34 pm

What ? Maybe its becuase I am in the UK, but I have NEVER heared about places selling radioactive material. Why would they ?


Smoke detectors, Fire alarms, some watches (might not any more depending on how watches a currently manufactured), Some televisions.

there are a lot of house hold products that use radioactive materials for various reasons, true, not material you'd need for a proper nuclear reactor or a nuclear bomb.

but nuclear materials are readilly available. the hard part is refining them, that takes a lot of very educated men and a processing plant.
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Harry Hearing
 
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Post » Tue Dec 06, 2011 7:58 am

Fission (not fusion) isn't that hard to get. You pile enough radioactive crap together and it'll start to undergo natural spontaneous nuclear fission (as well as any number of other spontaneous decay reactions).

Now, how he planned on getting any usable power out of that pile of hot rocks is another matter. What was he going to do, put a pot of water on top of it and see if it boiled?



The article clearly states (of course, might be a typo/misunderstanding on their part):
The 32-year-old amateur physicist constructed the $40,000 homemade fusion reactor in his spare time, and became the 38th independent physicist in the word to achieve nuclear fusion from a self-built reactor

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Tamara Dost
 
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Post » Mon Dec 05, 2011 11:15 pm

- It's actually fairly easy to build the reactor, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Hahn

- Coming across the fissile materials is a challenge, but can be done through purchasing radiological medical equipment and other sources

- Building the reactor is easy, but converting the heat the reactor creates into a usable power source is hard and requires a LOT of space.
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Yonah
 
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Post » Tue Dec 06, 2011 5:59 am

The article clearly states (of course, might be a typo/misunderstanding on their part):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fusor

http://www.engadget.com/2006/11/23/detroit-area-teen-builds-nuclear-fusion-reactor/

http://www.engadget.com/2011/05/28/microsoft-manager-teams-up-with-teens-to-build-a-fusion-reactor/
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Hannah Barnard
 
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Post » Tue Dec 06, 2011 3:25 am

I thought that fission reactors were the only reliable nuclear power source with our current technology.
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saharen beauty
 
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Post » Tue Dec 06, 2011 7:38 am

I thought that fission reactors were the only reliable nuclear power source with our current technology.

They are the only cost-effective ones. Economically viable fusion power plants are still a while off.
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chirsty aggas
 
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Post » Tue Dec 06, 2011 6:50 am

I'm a little on the fence with this one. I can understand the authorities side of this. Nuclear reactors are delicate machines and dangerous in the wrong hands. And I don't mean weaponizing it. Someone who isn't properly trained in constructing, operating and maintaining a nuclear reactor (I doubt anyone is sufficiently trained to do all three) has no business constructing, operating and maintaining a nuclear reactor. And even if they were, a residential area is the last place they should construct it.

On the other hand... my guess is this was a rather small reactor. Likely a fission reactor, not a fusion reactor. If designed properly it wouldn't require much nuclear fuel. I believe the New Horizons space craft uses a small amount of plutonium to power it's systems and doesn't use a traditional water turbine to generate electricity. If it was designed this way there would be much less risk of irradiated materials seeping into the environment in the case of a catastrophic failure.

I guess the dangers are rather low but there definitely needs to be some sort of regulation for this kind of thing.
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sam westover
 
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Post » Mon Dec 05, 2011 9:14 pm

Key word attempted. He's not Doc Brown.
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elliot mudd
 
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Post » Tue Dec 06, 2011 4:30 am

:shrug: I'm not sure why this is such a huge story. I do this all the time; I buy spare parts from terrorists in mall parking lots.
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JLG
 
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Post » Tue Dec 06, 2011 9:18 am

What I think is funny is he was halfway through building the thing then it suddenly hit him, "You know, I should check and see if what I'm doing is illegal." If there was a guide to building a homemade nuclear reactor I'm pretty sure the very first step would be to check if it's legal in your country. Still you have to give him credit for trying to do the right thing and eventually checking. I think he should get off with a warning or a slap on the wrist.
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Pawel Platek
 
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Post » Tue Dec 06, 2011 5:12 am

hope he enjoys cancer
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Lauren Denman
 
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Post » Mon Dec 05, 2011 9:27 pm

This guy is actually a regular at a more liberal forum that I frequent (he's even helped me with my chemistry homework!) and to clear some things out:

He was building a fission reactor, not a fusion one. The quoted article lacks a paragraph, where they explain the fusion part concerns an American who made a fusion reactor a while back.

He was never trying to build a generator to retrieve power from the creation, just the reactor part if I understood him correctly.

The Fox-article is also still up, just that the OP's link is broken. The guy's blog can be found here: http://richardsreactor.blogspot.com/
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Caroline flitcroft
 
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Post » Tue Dec 06, 2011 10:21 am

Thats pretty awesome. Aslong as he lives far away from others I dont see an issue. If its small how bad could it be ?

According to the original article in Helsingborgs Dagblad, he lives in an apartment. :D


Here's a working link to the Fox article - http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/08/02/swedish-man-builds-nuclear-reactor-in-his-kitchen/
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Eilidh Brian
 
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