The nuclear boy scout

[KennyR]

I saw an interesting documentary tonight about a boy scout who built his own nuclear reactor in his shed. This isn't a joke.

Here's a link to the story.

Using home products, americium from around 300 smoke detectors, thorium in gas lantern mantles, and radium in paint found in old clocks, he managed to construct a nuclear reactor in the back of his shed. He only got worried and was caught by the police after the radiation from his makeshift reactor became so strong he could detect it all the way across the street. The EPA had to come and dismantle his shed and bury it in a nuclear waste dump in Nevada.

Yes...the Boy Scouts do have an Atomic Energy badge.

[that_punk_guy]

Hardcore.

[Dan]

Drop dead MacGyver! :lol:

[Cymric]

Holy crap. This kid wasn't kidding :-). I wonder how large his yearly dose was; I'm betting it was way above the recommended safety level of 20 mSv/a for a radiological worker...

[Speelgoedmannetje]

I don't believe it for a second!

[blobrana]

Hum,
Yeah, there is the possibility that he did create a few atoms of plutonium.
Easy enough to do really...

In fact, it`s  so simple that a kid could do it.

[cecilia]

I want to know when he starts growing that second head out of his neck!
 :-o

(Eeewww, Manster!)

[Karlos]

Speelgoedmannetje wrote:
I don't believe it for a second!

I have read about it before in several places.

[odin]

:roflmao:

Duck!...and cooooooooooooover!

:-D

[whabang]

that_punk_guy wrote:
Hardcore.

There's no other word for it! :-o

[asian1]

Hi
It's a true story! I read about the Genius kid from Reader's Digest:

http://www.aaabooksearch.com/Reviews/037550351X

The crazy experiment may shorten his life by few years.
All the sheds and equipments are dismantled and seized by D.O.E. atomic emergency team.

Imagine what happen if some crazy terorist use the same method to create dirty bombs. I read a book / article in a local Science magazine on how to create atomic bomb (disregard of the creator health - only for suicidal terrorist). I wonder why this book / article was published /released to the public.

BTW on the movie "Fourth Protocol", Pierce Brosnan plays a Soviet agent who create a small suicide atomic bomb in UK to start WW III. Is this based on real technology?

http://www.dropbears.com/amazon/asinsearch_6302816157.html

[blobrana]

Yeah,
the bomb facts are  based on simple polonium/beryllium initiators designs… (from here)


As a side note an  ancient natural fission reactor was created 2,000 million years ago,  near Oklo (Gabon, West Africa)
it’s a weird case, and highlights of how  we sometimes forget how natural atomic reactors are…

Read about it here...

[asian1]

>Natural Reactor - 1 KW

Hi
Is this Natural Reactor dangerous to animals / plants around the Reactor?
Is the radiation cause DNA damage / evolution?

Is it possible to create a small, simple, portable and SAFE Nuclear Reactor for generating energy?
(ie 40 feet container, for emergency/ disaster area).
Thx.

[Cymric]

asian1 wrote:
Is this Natural Reactor dangerous to animals / plants around the Reactor? Is the radiation cause DNA damage / evolution?

No, it's not dangerous anymore, save for the fact the area will probably have a higher background level of radiation; and the fact that the nasty gas radon poses a threat to anything that breathes there for a longer period of time. Second question: hard to say: the reactor was operational 2 billion years ago, meaning there wasn't any life worth mentioning in the vicinity. If there were, yes, it would have caused DNA damage, just like a modern reactor does today.

Is it possible to create a small, simple, portable and SAFE Nuclear Reactor for generating energy?

First define what you think is acceptably safe, then we'll continue the discussion :-).

[Speelgoedmannetje]

asian1 wrote:
Hi
It's a true story! I read about the Genius kid from Reader's Digest:

....Reader's Digest..... :roll: (no offense)