A Swedish man arrested for attempting to split atoms in his kitchen claims he was only doing it as a 'hobby'.
Richard Handl had radium, americium and uranium in his apartment when police turned up to arrest him for possession of nuclear material.
Mr Handl, 31, 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 alerted the police.
"I have always been interested in physics and chemistry," he said, adding he just wanted to "see if it's possible to split atoms at home".
If convicted, Mr Handl could face fines or up to two years in prison. He now acknowledges the project wasn't such a good idea.
"From now on, I will stick to the theory," he said.
Source: http://web.orange.co.uk/article/quirkies/Man_tried_to_split_atoms_in_kitchen
Richard Handl had radium, americium and uranium in his apartment when police turned up to arrest him for possession of nuclear material.
Mr Handl, 31, 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 alerted the police.
"I have always been interested in physics and chemistry," he said, adding he just wanted to "see if it's possible to split atoms at home".
If convicted, Mr Handl could face fines or up to two years in prison. He now acknowledges the project wasn't such a good idea.
"From now on, I will stick to the theory," he said.
Source: http://web.orange.co.uk/article/quirkies/Man_tried_to_split_atoms_in_kitchen
