4 ms·

Capacitor but no 'nuclear reactor' found so far in Northwest side man’s garage

34 points by danso 7y ago

peterwwillis 7y ago
For more of these stories, head to fark.com
zaroth 7y ago
Assuming every third word in this article is probably incorrect, I would love to hear the actual 911 recording. Yeah, it’s possible the guy is clinically insane, but it seems more likely to me he called in trying to explain he got a bad electrical burn and was terribly misunderstood by the operator.
- TomMarius 7y ago
  I guessed he had a shock. You can't hold people accountable for saying bullshit while in shock (and desperately trying to get help) in the USA, right?
  - dTal 7y ago
    An electrical shock is not at all the same thing as the medical state of being 'in shock'. Also, it sounds like the injury he sustained was an RF burn, which is not quite the same as a 'shock' - although it's caused by electricity, the sensation and damage are local to the contact site. Basically this guy was likely no more 'in shock' than if he'd hit his thumb with a hammer. In pain, yes, but not delirious.
    - TomMarius 7y ago
      I know electrical shock is a different term but if he had burns from a capacitor, he very well could be mentally very shocked and babbling. You can be shocked (not electrically) from getting an electrical shock from the outlet, so why not from his capacitor?
- lonelappde 7y ago
  Why is it more likely that the operator heard a bunch of arcane terms that weren't actually said?
  - mlyle 7y ago
    A small hobby cyclotron that produces some alpha radiation is that uncommon of a project, and would be consistent with many words he said ("particle accelerator" and "alpha waves"). I mean, probably a crackpot, but it's not impossible that someone who got some electrical burns from a slightly exotic experiment gave 911 too much information and made them freak out.
    - blablabla123 7y ago
      Basically every CRT tube is a particle accelerator for electrons. Given that these run at 10 kV, of course burns can happen (and states of confusion)...
      - to11mtm 7y ago
        I was originally going to reply and also point out Microwaves as well, but while double checking that my memory served me correct, I discovered that 3d metal printing can be a use for electron guns as well [1]. Heck that can possibly involve Vacuums and metal powder as well... good times! [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron-beam_additive_manufacturing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron-beam_additive_manufac...
  - jchw 7y ago
    Personally I find it hard to believe both the man calling in and the operator had such imaginations. It feels like one of them was embellishing.
mantap 7y ago
This is what happens when a country has a febrile mixture of money and paranoia. Crackpot scientist phones up and starts spouting random technobabble, neighborhood summarily evacuated while the state verifies that yes he is indeed a crackpot. If this guy had claimed to be Bashar Al-Assad would they have sent police to arrest him for war crimes?
- jacobwilliamroy 7y ago
  No. They would pay to fly him back to Syria, then send in Navy SEALs to assassinate him 10 years later. The U.S. does not recognize international law. The country would look a lot different if it did. Shortly after 9/11 the Taliban had captured Osama Bin Laden, however Bush let Bin Laden slip through because the Taliban wanted to try him at the Hague.
cbanek 7y ago
> "Only one injury was reported: a firefighter in a hazmat suit was injured when he unepectedly came off a curb and twisted his ankle"
t34543 7y ago
> Depending on the evaluation and further investigation, it is possible the man will be criminally charged with inducing a panic, Martin said. That’s bullshit. The panic was caused by the 911 operator being cautious, taking no chance in case it was something harmful. The guy burned himself and needed medical assistance.
- dmatech 7y ago
  This whole reaction deeply saddens me. People should be encouraged to experiment, make their own stuff, and tinker. People are so easily scared these days of anything they don't understand.
lostlogin 7y ago
This seems somewhat less impressive that the story that immediately came to mind. David Hahn built very radioactive neutron source whilst trying to make a breeder reactor as a teenager in the ‘70s. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Hahn https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Hahn

34 points by danso 7y ago

For more of these stories, head to fark.com

Assuming every third word in this article is probably incorrect, I would love to hear the actual 911 recording. Yeah, it’s possible the guy is clinically insane, but it seems more likely to me he called in trying to explain he got a bad electrical burn and was terribly misunderstood by the operator.

TomMarius 7y ago
I guessed he had a shock. You can't hold people accountable for saying bullshit while in shock (and desperately trying to get help) in the USA, right?
- dTal 7y ago
  An electrical shock is not at all the same thing as the medical state of being 'in shock'. Also, it sounds like the injury he sustained was an RF burn, which is not quite the same as a 'shock' - although it's caused by electricity, the sensation and damage are local to the contact site. Basically this guy was likely no more 'in shock' than if he'd hit his thumb with a hammer. In pain, yes, but not delirious.
  - TomMarius 7y ago
    I know electrical shock is a different term but if he had burns from a capacitor, he very well could be mentally very shocked and babbling. You can be shocked (not electrically) from getting an electrical shock from the outlet, so why not from his capacitor?
lonelappde 7y ago
Why is it more likely that the operator heard a bunch of arcane terms that weren't actually said?
- mlyle 7y ago
  A small hobby cyclotron that produces some alpha radiation is that uncommon of a project, and would be consistent with many words he said ("particle accelerator" and "alpha waves"). I mean, probably a crackpot, but it's not impossible that someone who got some electrical burns from a slightly exotic experiment gave 911 too much information and made them freak out.
  - blablabla123 7y ago
    Basically every CRT tube is a particle accelerator for electrons. Given that these run at 10 kV, of course burns can happen (and states of confusion)...
    - to11mtm 7y ago
      I was originally going to reply and also point out Microwaves as well, but while double checking that my memory served me correct, I discovered that 3d metal printing can be a use for electron guns as well [1]. Heck that can possibly involve Vacuums and metal powder as well... good times! [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron-beam_additive_manufacturing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron-beam_additive_manufac...
- jchw 7y ago
  Personally I find it hard to believe both the man calling in and the operator had such imaginations. It feels like one of them was embellishing.

mantap 7y ago

This is what happens when a country has a febrile mixture of money and paranoia. Crackpot scientist phones up and starts spouting random technobabble, neighborhood summarily evacuated while the state verifies that yes he is indeed a crackpot. If this guy had claimed to be Bashar Al-Assad would they have sent police to arrest him for war crimes?

jacobwilliamroy 7y ago
No. They would pay to fly him back to Syria, then send in Navy SEALs to assassinate him 10 years later. The U.S. does not recognize international law. The country would look a lot different if it did. Shortly after 9/11 the Taliban had captured Osama Bin Laden, however Bush let Bin Laden slip through because the Taliban wanted to try him at the Hague.

cbanek 7y ago

> "Only one injury was reported: a firefighter in a hazmat suit was injured when he unepectedly came off a curb and twisted his ankle"

t34543 7y ago

> Depending on the evaluation and further investigation, it is possible the man will be criminally charged with inducing a panic, Martin said. That’s bullshit. The panic was caused by the 911 operator being cautious, taking no chance in case it was something harmful. The guy burned himself and needed medical assistance.

dmatech 7y ago
This whole reaction deeply saddens me. People should be encouraged to experiment, make their own stuff, and tinker. People are so easily scared these days of anything they don't understand.

lostlogin 7y ago

This seems somewhat less impressive that the story that immediately came to mind. David Hahn built very radioactive neutron source whilst trying to make a breeder reactor as a teenager in the ‘70s. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Hahn https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Hahn