I'm going to assume that any threads involving radioactivity, nuclear reactions, and such are not allowed here (don't worry, I have no intentions whatsoever of messing with the stuff). If this is the case, then someone might want to add something in the forum rules when re-doing/adding on to them for the HV portion. This seems like a no-brainer to me, but I've realized that there is a substantial number of threads about nuclear reactions and how to gather materials on other sites. Even if these are bogus (I don't know enough to know or not) discussing this stuff is probably like playing with fire when it comes to legal issues. Apparently it's not illegal to have small amounts of the dangerous stuffs in the US, but it's not illegal to stick a fork in an outlet either.

Just thought I'd throw that out there.

 

I don't see a problem with them, as long as you aren't talking real experiments. The Radioactive Boy Scout is an excellent cautionary tale about what smart bored teens can do if they aren't supervised. Of course, the final part of the tale is about this guy (no longer a teen) continuing his experiments.

The current threads in the off topic area are more about the tragedy that is happening in Japan right now.

Many times the best approach is not to ban a subject completely, but to be completely honest and forthcoming about the hazards involved. If you lie, and are caught, you loose credibility, when means a OP will go ahead and do what he wants. It is one of the classic mistakes the US government keeps making with drugs.

There are plenty of save things that can be done with nuclear science, a lot of it electronics. Geiger counters for example. We are surrounded with radioactive materials, and many times don't even know it.

 

sooo... you guys will help me find thorium and help me build one of these? (fusion reactor)

And I was referring to the large amount or threads about this at 4hv, not the japan threads.

 

I'll be honest, I was surprised (and pleased) you were allowed to continue your plasma speaker threads to completion. This was unusual. I doubt we will ever allow the scale of voltages and currents needed for the above posts experiments to be seriously discussed here.

 

sooo... you guys will help me find thorium and help me build one of these? (fusion reactor)

How much do you need? Just go to your local welding supply and ask for thoriated tungsten electrodes. Oops, I guess they are switching to lanthanum and zirconium. I'll have to save my old electrodes for when the design is ready to use.

John

 

As a general topic, I cannot see a problem. Nuclear technology is not massively discussed here at AAC, and the discussions that are had typically are civil, legal, and safe. There are probably better resources for specifics than AAC anyway.

Dave

 

As a general topic, I cannot see a problem. Nuclear technology is not massively discussed here at AAC, and the discussions that are had typically are civil, legal, and safe. There are probably better resources for specifics than AAC anyway.

Dave

Which usually get linked to during the course of the discussions.

 

Right, I see what your saying. Theres no harm in talking about the theory and it's not a big deal around here anyway.
About my post about the fusion reactor, I was being facetious, it surprised me a bit that radioactivity talks were OK while flybacks were under question, but it makes sense.
Sorry, I'll remove my foot here.

(but... if John will source the thorium... sounds like a good summer project, eh?)