Some people enjoy gardening as a hobby, others watch movies, but for Swede Richard Handl it was all about splitting atoms.
The 31-year-old Handl was arrested after trying to split atoms in his kitchen.
He admitted 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.
It took a while for the amateur nuclear physicist to realise his experiments might not be legal and he sent a question to
Sweden's Radiation Authority. The SRA responded by sending the police.
"I have always been interested in physics and chemistry," Handl said,
adding he just wanted to "see if it's possible to split atoms at home".
If convicted, Handl could face fines or up to two years in
prison.
Although he says police didn't detect dangerous levels of radiation in
his hom, he admitted the project wasn't such a brilliant plan.
"From now on, I will stick to the theory," he said.
New Zealander Ernest Rutherford is widely credited with being the first man to split the atom after a successful experiment in 1917.
