Leave ziz to ze experts, amateur!
A story that appeared in the Swedish language paper Helsingsborgs Dagblad involved that of a 31-year-old man in Angelholm who was arrested trying to building a nuclear reactor in his kitchen. His home was raided after he wrote to Sweden’s nuclear power agency, inquiring into the legality of his little experiment. Their response: confiscation!
Richard was hardly trying to blow up ze world, but just exercising an interest in physics and chemistry. He acquired radioactive elements radium, americium and uranium from foreign and used components of old smoke detectors to explore his hobby.
In his blog, “Richard’s Reactor,” Richard says that he attempted to build a nuclear reactor “not to gain electricity, just for fun”! In fact, Richard seems pretty laissez-faire about the whole thing. Here’s what he has to say about his arrest:
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!
This lax attitude of his had to have given authorities a splitting headache—how could they stay neutral about those neutrons? (Sorry, had to go there). Sadly, he says he’ll stick to theory from now on to avoid his two year jail sentence. I was hoping he’d solve the problem of nuclear waste once and for all.
Of course we have to say we do admire Richard boasting of his recent media attention in the press. That a boy!
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