Gamer Builds Nuclear Reactor in Home; FBI Pays a Visit
Gamer Builds Nuclear Reactor in Home; FBI Pays a Visit
January 10, 2008
This game is rated M for... Mushroom cloud? We joke, of course.
But the FBI recently paid a visit to a Texas gamer who was attempting to build a small nuclear reactor in his basement. They were accompanied by local cops as well as officials from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
The man, described by NBC-5 as an "out-of-work computer whiz who redesigns (GP: mods, perhaps?) video games" is apparently a science buff with a fascination for all things nuclear.
The FBI searched his home but found no cause for concern. The feds did, however, take the man's reactor project with them when they left, at the request of his parents.
Why did the young man embark on such a project? He told the TV news:
[Radiation is] in your tap water, you know, in the dirt. You could hold a Geiger counter up to a banana and get a count off of it. People do it in universities all the time. It's just not usual that somebody does it outside of a university.
Authorities were alerted following a blog entry in which the man described possessing uranium and indicated that the background radiation of his home had doubled. Of the raid on his home the gamer-turned-scientist said:
[FBI agents are] just doing their job. That's their job to come and check on stuff like that. When they left, it had been deemed that, you know, everything was within reason.... I think I'll keep it cool for awhile.
GP: It's interesting that the TV news report makes so much of the man's gaming, even showing him playing Call of Duty 4 at his PC.
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Posted 11/07/09 at 10:58am
JDKJ: Which could be explained by both (a) and (b).
JDKJ: Which could be explained by both (a) and (b).
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:56am
Austin_Lewis: JDKJ: You forgot C) the fact that, for some reason, every time he did something that would suggest he shouldn't be in the military, let alone an officer, higher ups ignored it or let it slide.
Austin_Lewis: JDKJ: You forgot C) the fact that, for some reason, every time he did something that would suggest he shouldn't be in the military, let alone an officer, higher ups ignored it or let it slide.
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:51am
JDKJ: Part of the problem is, I believe, that (a) the Army had a lot of time and money already invested in him and which they were unwilling to simply write-off and (b) an increasing need for the type of skills and services he provided.
JDKJ: Part of the problem is, I believe, that (a) the Army had a lot of time and money already invested in him and which they were unwilling to simply write-off and (b) an increasing need for the type of skills and services he provided.
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:48am
JDKJ: And that even if he was begging not to get cut loose, he was apparently a real good candidate for being cut loose, anyway.
JDKJ: And that even if he was begging not to get cut loose, he was apparently a real good candidate for being cut loose, anyway.
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:11am
JDKJ: @chada: And while Kennedy once noted that there's usually more than enough blame for everyone to get a slice, the possibility that the Army was unwilling to cut loose someone who was asking to get cut loose could be a factor.
JDKJ: @chada: And while Kennedy once noted that there's usually more than enough blame for everyone to get a slice, the possibility that the Army was unwilling to cut loose someone who was asking to get cut loose could be a factor.
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:07am
ZippyDSMlee: *noms on his feet*..nomnomnomnom*droooll* ...wuuutttttt uuu looking at?
ZippyDSMlee: *noms on his feet*..nomnomnomnom*droooll* ...wuuutttttt uuu looking at?
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:05am
JDKJ: I'm no psychologist, but I'm told that crazy people have a tendency to do crazy things.
JDKJ: I'm no psychologist, but I'm told that crazy people have a tendency to do crazy things.
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:03am
chadachada321: Whoops, was out of the convo for awhile. I do wonder what type of ammo he used etc, but the real issue is WHY he did it, not HOW
chadachada321: Whoops, was out of the convo for awhile. I do wonder what type of ammo he used etc, but the real issue is WHY he did it, not HOW
Posted 11/07/09 at 09:56am
JDKJ: But if it turns out that they actually did, they'll have Hell to pay.
JDKJ: But if it turns out that they actually did, they'll have Hell to pay.
Posted 11/07/09 at 09:45am
JDKJ: And I'd tend to rule out the possibilty of FN Herstal supplying restricted ammunition to someone merely because they're ordering it from a military base.
JDKJ: And I'd tend to rule out the possibilty of FN Herstal supplying restricted ammunition to someone merely because they're ordering it from a military base.
Posted 11/07/09 at 09:37am
JDKJ: I know you don't leave your gated community and get around much in dark alleys, so you may be surprised to learn that there's this thing called "the black market" where, if you've got enough money, ain't too much of anything which can't be bought.
JDKJ: I know you don't leave your gated community and get around much in dark alleys, so you may be surprised to learn that there's this thing called "the black market" where, if you've got enough money, ain't too much of anything which can't be bought.
Posted 11/07/09 at 09:36am
Austin_Lewis: Or, maybe he or someone else at the base ordered the SS190 from FN Herstal.
Austin_Lewis: Or, maybe he or someone else at the base ordered the SS190 from FN Herstal.
Posted 11/07/09 at 09:32am
Austin_Lewis: the hands of private owners. They run about 300 dollars minimum for a box of 50, and boxes of AP 5.7 are extremely scarce, mainly residing in the hands of Class III stores or individuals who for one reason or another got a demo box of it.
Austin_Lewis: the hands of private owners. They run about 300 dollars minimum for a box of 50, and boxes of AP 5.7 are extremely scarce, mainly residing in the hands of Class III stores or individuals who for one reason or another got a demo box of it.
Posted 11/07/09 at 09:30am
Austin_Lewis: There are other firearms that fire the 5.7. However, I too would like to know where he got the ammo and what kind was used. Maybe Hasan, planning not to live through this, went out and bought one the boxes of SS190 that are floating around in
Austin_Lewis: There are other firearms that fire the 5.7. However, I too would like to know where he got the ammo and what kind was used. Maybe Hasan, planning not to live through this, went out and bought one the boxes of SS190 that are floating around in
Posted 11/07/09 at 08:44am
JDKJ: And it isn't yet clear what type of ammunition Hasan used. It's strange that he purchased a gun but didn't purchase ammunition for it at the same place and time. Especially because the calibre required is peculiar to the actual gun.
JDKJ: And it isn't yet clear what type of ammunition Hasan used. It's strange that he purchased a gun but didn't purchase ammunition for it at the same place and time. Especially because the calibre required is peculiar to the actual gun.
Posted 11/07/09 at 08:40am
JDKJ: We can sit here all day and debate the relative merits. However, I think the events of recent days suggest that an FN Five-Seven ain't exactly the same as that Daisy BB gun you got for Christmas when you were a kid.
JDKJ: We can sit here all day and debate the relative merits. However, I think the events of recent days suggest that an FN Five-Seven ain't exactly the same as that Daisy BB gun you got for Christmas when you were a kid.
Posted 11/07/09 at 08:38am
Austin_Lewis: JDKJ: tumbling can be quite dangerous. However, the rounds that commonly tumbled were variants of the SS90. Civilian ammo tends to tumble far less commonly.
Austin_Lewis: JDKJ: tumbling can be quite dangerous. However, the rounds that commonly tumbled were variants of the SS90. Civilian ammo tends to tumble far less commonly.
Posted 11/07/09 at 08:33am
JDKJ: I understand that while they don't have much expansion effect, they tend to "yaw" on impact. Yaw can be almost just as damaging as mushrooming.
JDKJ: I understand that while they don't have much expansion effect, they tend to "yaw" on impact. Yaw can be almost just as damaging as mushrooming.
Posted 11/07/09 at 08:30am
Austin_Lewis: JDKJ: Except when one considers the lack of expansion for the 5.7, it basically ends up leaving a far smaller hole.
Austin_Lewis: JDKJ: Except when one considers the lack of expansion for the 5.7, it basically ends up leaving a far smaller hole.
Posted 11/07/09 at 08:29am
JDKJ: But if the latter's travelling at close to twice the speed of the former, there's a compensatory effect on the weight difference.
JDKJ: But if the latter's travelling at close to twice the speed of the former, there's a compensatory effect on the weight difference.
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Comments
also only gamers are dangerous, as we all know since all other criminals have since retired their naughty ways and crochet for a living.
Lives with him mom.
A true follower of our kind.
IN other news, radiation not quite as dangerous as anti nuclear hysteria has convinced people it is, film at 11.
I hate to get all scientiffical, but that is semi-true. Radation is everywhere, but not in the amounts one finds in a reactor.
(1) Individual is intelligent enough to build own reactor.
(2) Government wants sole Rights to nuclear power.
(3) Government wants to infringe on citizen's IP Rights to creating their own personal power source.
(4) Government links video games to being evil.
(5) Government links intelligent citizen who can build a reactor to video games.
(6) Government deems intelligent citizen who can build a reactor an "evil genius" because video games are evil and citizen plays video games.
(7) Government confiscates reactor and "leaks" (no pun intended) to the news media that they have stormed the home of an "evil genius" (because he played video games and video games are evil) and taken away his nuclear bomb... er... reactor.
(8) Government has successfully violated IP Rights of citizen and assured that they are the only ones with power to bill citizens for nuclear energy.
Nightwng2000
NW2K Software
Pardon my ignorance, but does that mean in the USA energy/power is nationalised, rather than privatised? Just curious - an honest query rather than a loaded question...
i give this guy kudos for building a nuclear reactor, rising energy prices are a bugger these days, however i suspect he'd've had more luck if he'd not posted this information, finished it, patent'd it, got a small piece of land out in the open, and set up his own energy company.
why, i ask, do the news make so much of gamers being smart?
direct comparrison of smartness with 'he who must not be named' and the average gamer, and we win.
actually, the unmentionable one is quite smart, just lacking in wisdom/plain common sense.
My thoughts exactly.
@ Monkeythumbs
Energy is privatised, but heavily under the direct supervision of the government. They get paid large dues and taxes from energy companies. If private citizens are creating their own power, they have to pay taxes on it.
If you are caught building your own nuclear reactor to power your home or your own bio-fuel to fuel your car, they will confiscate if you don't pay the heavy taxes. Chances are that you will be unable to pay those taxes.
Also in the US, if you do manage to get a liscense to power your own house (it is possible, but I don't know of anyone who is totally independent of outside power) you cannot, as a private citizen, make more power than you can personally use. You have to give any excess power back to the state without any compensation. You cannot even give that power to your neighbors as that is outside the liscense.
It sucks horribly.
"It’s interesting that the TV news report makes so much of the man’s gaming, even showing him playing Call of Duty 4 at his PC."
@GP: No it's not. I'd stop short of saying they have an AGENDA, but the MSM still goes to some lengths to portray gaming as abnormal. There's no surprise here at all. You've got a person doing something the average viewer would be shocked by/not want in their neighborhood, so the fact that he games is raised clearly. It's SOP.
Many of the nuke plants in the united states are privately run.
The Nuclear regulatory Commission is just that, a Regulatory group that the government created to watch and enforce standards in the nuclear power industry.
I don't know which state you live in, but I have solar panels at my home and during the summer when I generate more power than I consume, the power company buys back the extra electricity I feed into the grid.
"The feds did, however, take the man’s reactor project with them when they left, at the request of his parents."
his parents wanted that reactor out of the house, i dont think the feds cared as much. 'course that's just my interpretation.
Yeah, the company i intern at does the same thing with power on the weekends.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Hahn
Just FYI.
I tried to do what he did and get a sample of every stable element on the periodic table then glue them to a large periodic table.
Some of the stuff aint easy to get.
If that were true anyone with a windmill generator on their house should be imprisoned.
My mistake.
I noticed the same thing too. I don't think it's really that big of a deal that they visited him, because they only ended up taking it away at the request of his parents. They were only there to make sure nothing was going to explode.
The woes of the home power supply aside, I dislike that they included him being a video gamer in the media report. That seems completely unrelated, and the only reason I can see for that fact being included is the media trying to reinforce the "gamers are weird and we want nothing to do with them" mindset.
Do you have to sell it to the electric company or can you keep it or give it away?
Step 1 Train an army through murder simulators
Step 2 Build Nuclear Reactors to get WMD
Step 3 Take over the world
They should be worried
Very worried
Because soon they won't be able to stop us
MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Step 4: Profit!
That's why it's called "weapons-grade" nuclear material.
Yes, our founding fathers must be so proud.
Everyone I know plays it on console
Brownies for all! *Activates Brownie Fountain*
He stated that the nuclear background in his house doubled. That's nothing, I live (like one of the commentors here, Soldat Louis I think) in Brittany. The rock under us is granit. The average radioactivity here is twice what you would get in, say, Paris, or London.
That's no threat. What is a threat is called panic mongering. See Greenpeace, they started out with noble objectives but now...
Also, I think you might be amused to know that the wave of cancers in Western Europe associated with some events linked to the plot of STALKER happens to have started before the actual accident. It's not genetic premonition, it's progress in cancer detection.
You typically have to feed it back into the grid. Actually it may also have something to do with zoning laws.
Part of the issue is zoning laws. 2 houses can't share the same power tap because of the zoning. However a group of town houses can. Large apartment building can have individual metering or the whole building metering.
Sometimes you will see neighborhoods forming co-ops to get better deals on power, they collectively pay, then give everyone access to the same pool. This actually becomes a necessity in some more rural areas.
You can make a nuke with uranium. You can also make it with plutonium, and weapons grade plutonium.
The higher the grade the less of the material you need for a bomb.
Quite frankly, its not that damn hard to make a nuke. It won't be elegant, clean, compact, high yield, or guaranteed to work. The best part is, if it doesn't work you have a plain old dirty bomb, which is nasty on its own.
yea it doubled, but he wasn't done. you don't know the guy do you? have you hung out with him? does he have the training? does he have back ups to ensure saftey? I doubt you know ANY of this, and neither do I. so why risk having a guy who may or may not mess a whole lot of shit up. would he stop just knowing he can? or will he keep going to see how much he can do? I know the rise in cancer rate is also related to the rise in cancer detection, just like the rise in STD's and the rise in drugs. you are just hearing about it more. but this is something no one person should be doing on their own. he even said it himself that it is something that should be done in a university with people. he just seemed to do it for shits and giggles it seems. do I know that for sure? no. do you know that for sure? no. but why risk it all because he may or may not be an ok guy.
I hate it when people scream foul when police/fbi barge into someones place because of probable cause and a warrent. even this guy said they were only doing their job and he was ok with it. that kinda shows he may be an ok guy, but before this happened would anyone have known that for sure? probably not. so, again, why risk such a thing that may effect people living around him?
It is not always true that one cannot sell the excess power to the state. Several states have laws that require the re-purchase of excess power at precisely the cost that private users pay. Most have a grid-tie meter that can run backwards. While most of your statements were true, it is legal to produce your own fuel for your own use that is not transported, sold or used to power machinery that travels on public roads. This means that you can make biodiesel for use in your home furnace or your farm's tractors but not for your truck which is licensed to run on the roads unless you pay taxes on the fuel which is still much cheaper than paying for it at the pumps.
It sure would be nice to only have to pay roughly $50/year for a self-sustaining electrical supply... but what are the chances any municipality in the nation lets you put one in? Heck, many places don't even let you install geothermal heat pumps without a special hard-to-get license.
It's like a license to own a 50 cal. rifle. Sure you can legally get one, but good luck finding anyone who will give you one.
I am anonymous, it doesn't look like it means anything but it does.
It simplifies things. Call me anonymous rather than a paraphase please, it works better for post referal.
And about your complaints:
"They're just doing their job," the man said. "That's their job to come and check on stuff like that. When they left, it had been deemed that, you know, everything was within reason."
That about sums it up.
Yes, it does. he says they were doing their job. they found out it was within reason at that time. would i have not wanted them to check on it? no. You qouting what he said is what i already stated. i don't view this as fear mongering. i view it as someone who said they were doing something they probably shouldn't have. they checked it out, it was ok but it was good to make sure. take the thing away he shouldn't really have in the first place, to which he admits, end of story. no harm done. I just meant i wouldn't want them to just brush it off all because they don't know he knows what he is doing. I had no complaints, just to those who think this was wrong of them to check up on. it was well within reason to, it was their job to, as you qouted, the end.
You sound like one of those people who's totally obsessed with safety and "national security". But you know what, he was totally within his rights, even if he was your neighbor. Then again I'm sure if you found out you would call the cops on him. The world is not some perfect place, and it is not the job of the government to babysit everyone to the point of "don't touch that its hot".
What he was building could not explode
Call me crazy, but that all seems perfectly reasonable.
the nuclear reactor he was constructing was no cause for concern? and they only took it because mommy asked agent johnson to do so?
There is no way he could build a true nuclear reactor at home which can be used to great electrical energy.
I am sure you'll like our diary..
Sayonara
it was well within his rights to try and build it, but to be fair there should be a bit of legislation about this just for the safety of his neighbors just in case of a 'runnaway reaction' because most modern reactors have ridiculous amounts of safety procedure and equipment to keep the heat and radiation in while letting electricity out.
Drezta and Haggard
It is highly unlikely (read: NOT POSSIBLE) that this individual could gather enough uranium to form a self-sustaining nuclear reaction. Critical mass for a bare sphere of weapons grade (98%) enriched uranium is about 52 kg. Weapons grade uranium is extremely expensive to produce. Since the isotopes of uranium have the same chemical and mechanical properties, uranium cannot be enriched by chemical means. The most common method is by centrifuge, taking advantage of the slightly different masses. This is not within the capability of any individual in their home. If we assume that the individual is using 15% enriched uranium, greater than 600 kg would be required to form any kind of chain reaction. Even with enough uranium to form a chain reaction, there would be no risk of explosion. Meltdown is a possibility, but the risk to the public would be minimal based on the lack of operating history and the immediate loss of critical geometry. Also, the 50 block radius would assume a yield in the kiloton range, which would require significantly more weapons grade uranium, as well as very efficient bomb design.
Next we have the radiation concern. There are 4 different types of ionizing radiation:
Alpha - These are heavy particles, but because of their geometry they are easily stopped by a piece of paper or a dead layer of skin. If inhaled or ingested they can be dangerous. An example of an alpha emitter is Radon
Beta - This is another type of low energy radiation that, while potentially harmful, is easily blocked by a layer of clothing.
Gamma - This is the most common type of radiation, and is penetrating, meaning that it must be shielded by heavy metals or materials specifically designed for shielding. Water is a good, cheap shield, which is why university reactors are often submerged in water.
Neutron - Potentially the most devastating of radiation, these only come from nuclear fission.
A doubling in the background radiation is his home would most certainly not be dangerous, as the levels of radiation in one's home are drastically lower than the amount that would be required to cause damage, even with constant exposure.
In conclusion
1. It is not possible for an individual to create a fission reactor in one's home that is capable of a) Exploding or b) Producing power
2. A doubling in the background radiation level in his home would not have been a significant risk
It is possible to amass enough radioactive material to present a hazard to oneself, and the conversion of isotopes is possible to create more hazardous forms of elements. In no way do I condone experimenting with radiation in one's home. However, if the FBI and NRC found no cause for concern, and were not going to take any further action (the article implied that the experiment was removed only at the request of the boy's parents), then the experiment was probably harmless.
Interestingly, this is not the first time this has happened. In 1994 David Hahn, a boy scout, attempted to build a breeder reactor in a shed on his property. His experimentation led to his exposure to very large amounts of hazardous radioactive material, mostly thorium. The NRC sent in a nuclear waste disposal team to dismantle his experiment and the containing shed. All material was disposed of as radioactive waste.
Safety: I had a 6 inch thick concrete cask.....should be enough.
Like another poster had mentioned, it was of the type built in the 40's to transmutate materials (ie: breeder) but nothing to do anything significant. I built a seebeck generator (think RTG) and it could produce minute amounts of power. Further plans where to construct a betavoltaic cell at some point.
NBC5i Threatened to go and tell me neighbors and make me look like an asshole and at the same time, get me in trouble with my HOA if I did not give them a minute of video.
The guy ended up getting testicular canced. not sure if it was related to his project