Man trying to split atoms at home gets arrested

STOCKHOLM - 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.

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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.

[formrusmcsgt]

"...adding he just wanted to "see if it's possible to split atoms at home."
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His question has been effectively answered, I believe.

[imnho]

Its unlikely that he was close to a chain reaction. part of the concern is the mmaterials he had can be hazardious to the public if released.

[documemts]

DIY!

[CBS_CEO]

This is poor reporting. The materials are radioactive; the atoms are splitting themselves! He was just trying to concentrate the material into a chain-reaction, hence the "melt-down" on his stove. Governments are crushing scientific inquiry. You can't even buy a decent chemistry set for kids any more. Always more and more controls except for guns, which are only designed to kill.
In 1903 the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded Pierre Curie, Marie Curie and Henri Becquerel the Nobel Prize in Physics, "in recognition of the extraordinary services they have rendered by their joint researches on the radiation phenomena discovered by Professor Henri Becquerel." Today, they'd throw them in prison.

[kenhamlett]

I like do it yourself people. He would have been fine if he had simply done the work and even better if he had never learned to write.

[bajajohn1]

What law did he violate?

[rwsmith29456]

Perhaps he was stockpiling yellowcake in his cabinets to sell for weapons of mass destruction.

[erasmus111]

"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."


DUH.