Do-it-yourself Acme Matter Transmagrifier 3000

I once read a story about some young teenager who made a nuclear reactor.
He was trying to build a RAY gun that would vaporize things. Didn’t we all when we were young? Unfortunately this guy was very inteligent (and very stupid depending on how you look at it).
He ended up buy 10,000 or so smoke detectors for next to nothing. Then he called a University posing as a high school physics teacher to find out exactly how to get the radioactive material out of the things.
Anyway, he got all this stuff and put other things together in his shed. He did not get a working ray gun but he did make some dangerous reactor or something. Before long, his Gieger counter was picking up radiation several blocks down. He took the thing apart and put pieces of it in different places. One part he put in his trunk. Weeks later, a cop stopped him on an unrelated incident and searched his trunk. When the cop found the sealed box, the boy said, “Dont touch that, it’s radioactice.” The Deparment of Energy was called out and cleaned up everything. They were very suprised that such a thing was possible. I think he now has a job with the DOE…

OK here’s the question. (Had you worried didn’t I, Manny)
Anyone ever hear this before? Is it true? UL? Anyone have a link to the story online? I think I read it in a Magazine. Is this possible? Anyone ever try it? How long ago was this?
Please help, I tell this story all the time, but I never have the details. The more I tell it, the more I lose the facts.

I’ve heard the story before, with references and everything. It was a few years ago, though.

One of the things the kid tried to make was a neutron gun, so as to make plutonium from uranium. Fortunately for him, his gun worked, but too well. The neutrons came out too fast, and thus split the atoms (without chain reaction), instead of staying in the nucleii and making a new element.

It was a long article about all the sources that he got radioactive materials. Americium from the smoke detectors, uranium from pitchblende.

Wow… Google is amazing. I should have tried a search ith Google before posting this. I did a search, but I guess Excite sucks!!

Seems I am not crazy after all. This DID happen in 1995.

http://www.streeters.org/nuke/events/tale_of_the_radioactive_boy_scou.htm
Manny, if you would not mind, please do not close this. Please send it to MPSIMS instead. I want to share this and see what everyone else thinks of this kid and this story. Maybe they’ll share stories of their own homemade nuclear reactors.

done

The Radioactive Boy Scout

GRRRRRR !!! Boy aren’t I just screwing up today on several levels. I should not have even signed on today… man I am sucking ass!

Manny, go ahead close this up. (as if you need my permission or something) In fact, if could erase it from the board as if it never happend, that would be good!

:::mumbles, and goes for more coffee:::

Closed at the OP’s request.