THE WALL STREET JOURNAL had an interesting article last week about people who have a hobby of building nuclear-fusion reactors in their basements. People who successfully fuse atoms get a membership into the “Neutron Club.”
I don’t know much about nuclear reactors, but the idea of having amateur scientists attempt to fuse atoms sounds as if it could be dangerous. I called Emporia’s city attorney to make sure there was a law prohibiting home nuclear reactors.
What I found is that in Emporia, it is illegal to have couches on your front porch, it’s illegal to have grass in your yard that is taller than 12 inches and it’s illegal to have roosters living within the city limits.
But if you want to have nuclear reactor in your basement, that is perfectly OK.
Happy fusioning.
Christopher White Walker
Editor & Publisher
smolloy (anonymous) says...
Christopher,
While I agree that you should make all efforts to ensure that dangerous, life-threatening, activities are restricted within your community, I disagree that you should ban an action which "sounds as if it could be dangerous".
Perhaps if something "sounds" as if it might be dangerous, then you should try to find out more about it, discover the facts, and make an informed decision based on the merits of the case. In that case, if you did conclude that it was dangerous, your argument to the city attorney would hold more water.
On the other hand, you might discover that this is actually a fascinating topic, worthy of your respect, and, perhaps, might even become a new hobby for you and your family!
August 26, 2008 at 10:50 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
jayhawker (anonymous) says...
Besides, Chris, with a turbine generator to go with that reactor, a person could save on his electrical bill.
August 26, 2008 at 9:08 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )