Live off-grid ... Build your own reactor :)

Creating an individual pebble-bed reactor to generate power really isn't as difficult as it may seem. Extrapolating from my own nuclear experience, and some brainstorming (and internet research), I figure this audience is as good as any other to start some talk.

My hypothesis is that one could very feasibly build their own 5kw reactor in a basement or swimming pool. Of course, in the basement, I wouldn't particularly recommend unless you feel like insulating your house with lead (Pb).


external image


Unitednuclear.com sells 'super' radioactive pieces of uranium ore, which have essentially all of the items one really needs to start fission. The counts start around 10 000 cpm, but increase to their 'super radioactive' levels of 40 000+ cpm. These levels aren't enough to generate any sort of 'action' other than, if you wear it on a chain around your neck, cancer.

Radmax lead sheets are available for shielding, as are geiger counters and probably dosimeters (though I didn't look)

First, one starts by soaking in the ore samples in a flourine bath until the samples 'dissolve' (as much as possible). Second, one throws a magnetic field over the ore-pool, and pulse the pool in a circular fashion -- as a result, the denser U238 isotope is pushed towards the outside. This is what one needs for the fission reaction.

After that, it's fairly 'easy,' the same as any type of fission reactor ... Plus unitednuclear.com sells paraffin wax, which can act a neutron-slower, or hey, just a huge vat of water as a moderator.


Referenced Fusion is easy !, so go read up, ATS-ers. Note this is about *fusion* and not fission (my brain went awry during this post). Also, United Nuclear for supplies.


[edit on 14-4-2006 by mauskov]

[edit on 14-4-2006 by mauskov]

Wow! I have a new summer project!
Just kidding, great info and a great idea, but it's a bit beyond me.....

Would be cool though.

Err are most people going to be dead by the time they get this thing going from radiation sickness? If so then maybe it isn't such a good idea after all. Otherwise I like to think that someday everybody will have their own power generator thingy that looks like a microwave.

This link leads to one of my favorite stories of household science.

A young man managed to construct a functioning (if primitive) reactor core in his mother's shed, with hopes of building a power-generating breeder reactor. Things got out of hand (he wrapped the radioactive materials in aluminum foil... go figure) and before long the authorities shut down his workshop, but he had made some considerable progress.

Just an interesting story on the subject, which I find really interesting; I am very enthusiastic about living off the grid, although I don't possess nearly enough capital to undertake such an enterprise myself, but I believe that advances in solar and other alternative energy sources over the next couple decades will make that ideal a little more feasible.

No. The site selling the material says that as far as handling goes, you should not store the pebbles on your body, and you should wash your hands after handling. That's 20,000-39,000cpm rocks. It actually takes a pretty significant dose to make someone sick, and a fairly high dose to kill you.

[edit on 4/15/2006 by Zaphod58]

remember the nuclear boy scout


external image


a little video clip for you

I think that the flourine bath would kill more people than the nuke materials!

This isn't something that anyone here should be trying.

It's deusnoctum before he met me. Aww.

Unless you are an Islamic Republic...

Seriously, I think that there are better and cheaper methods.

A windmill like those used to pump water could be easily convert to generate power, but I do not know what capacity that would deliver.

If you live in place with many hours of sunlight, like we have here in Portugal, you could use solar power.

Funny, I heard another story: A university student actually build a small nuclear bomb using materials he ordered on the internet. It was quite easy (Well, maybe for at university student, who's specialising in the subject) and was apparently able to explode if he wired it correctly. The story ended out with the army confiscating the bomb after the high ranked officials at the university found out what was going on..

Urban legend? Hmmm.. Who knows.. 8)

Ah ha!!! Finished.

Well, no complaints from the nieghbours. They are all at the hospital with some weird bug. Only seems to be around this area.

Well. I have finished installing the lead walls to my house. I have also covered the entire swimming pool (my reactor) with lead sheet. Boy!!! Hard work or what?! I have also installed geiger counters around the house, one on top of the reactor, one in the kitchen one in each bedroom, the living room and one in the toilet to make sure i don't have radioactive poop.

Hmm, getting rather wierd lumps on me. I'll have to get these checked out by the doctor next week if they get any worse. I think it was that cheese i ate last week. Did smell rather potent.

I keep recieving letters from the US Government, something about me using the radioactive power to mask my nuclear arms development. Pfft. Here's what i sent them:

"Erm. It was Irans idea to do. Not mine."

Anyway. Time to switch the light bulb on that i am powering. Its nice to think i am helping to clean the environment. Ohh bit dim, but it'll do, only a 60 Watt. I'm really clean me, i even put my radioactive waste in the BIN!!! Well. I don't really think it's radioactive waste, as i havent got any fission going yet, probably for the best. I don't think the parafin wax is quite as good as the Boron rods i have orded. The parafin wax seems to be keeping the Monkeyvulturespiders from getting too contaminated, so all is well. Infact. Be right back, im just going to start up the fission now, i could always try.

Going, back in 5.

...



...



...





Maybe NEXT TIME (i doubt there'll be one of those) i will get some Uranium ore. Not new super refined Uranium 235 from Irans Nuclear Weapo....erm i mean Nuclear Power plant. Ahem.

Next week i will be installing my tokamak fusion reactor. Much cleaner. Will take alot of power to start though. Well the neighbours wont be using the power (for undisclosed reasons).

Now that I've finished laughing, especially at the reference to the nuclear boy scout, I feel a sudden paranoid compulsion to check every pool in my neighborhood for fluorine and uranium (just to be safe).

I really hope no one tries this though, homemade and fission should never appear in the same sentence for the safety of everyone everywhere.

It would probably be cheaper to use regular electricity in the long run.

I think you only get something like 3.5% of U235 from Uranium. So Uranium ore has something like .01%-20% Uranium in it. If you are using United Nuclear as a supplier then you will be paying 50$ per 5 pounds of Uranium ore. Out of that ore you might get a half pound of Uranium in the best case scenario (as in the ore is the best in the world and yeilds 20% Uranium in any given sample which is unlikely). Out of that you might get 6 grams of U235 supposedly if you distill it perfectly.

I have no idea how much U235 you need to get a nuclear reactor going. It could end up costing you alot of money in Uranium ore alone just to get enough Uranium235. Nevermind the logistics and equipment in milling it, doing the chemistry, and then building a safe reactor and generator.

I cant see how that could be cheaper then just paying for electricity from an electric company. Nevermind being in constant fear of radiation or something going wrong. Id rather have the government invest billions in making safe reactors somewhere safe then for me to try and build one in my basement. I doubt my neighbors would appreciate it and I doubt I would appreciate them trying the same.

(The faggy feds probably get their feathers ruffled whenever someone buys a chemistry set or peice of Uranium from that site so I will order both. ) I bet they will illegally spy on me. I have money on it.

[edit on 18-4-2006 by ImplementOfWar]