this post was submitted on 27 Mar 2025
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Science Memes

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[–] SpiceDealer@lemmy.dbzer0.com 13 points 6 days ago

They arrested this century's Oppenheimer but they won't arrest the CEOs of oil companies? The hypocrisy on display!

[–] Reddfugee42@lemmy.world 14 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Too bad it's not 1985. I heard in 1985 it would be available in every corner drugstore.

[–] TheFudd@lemmy.world 12 points 6 days ago (2 children)

Nope. In 1985, your best bet for plutonium was connections from Libya. A guy named Doc Brown was my hookup, had a really nice DeLorean he was working on for a project of his...

[–] Reddfugee42@lemmy.world 3 points 6 days ago

#THE LIBYANS

[–] disguy_ovahea@lemmy.world 185 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (4 children)

I know of a hookup. Meet the Libyans in the Twin Pines Mall parking lot after hours. Be sure to wear a bullet proof vest.

[–] AngryCommieKender@lemmy.world 56 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

That's the Lone Pine mall. Some crazy looking car took out the other pine in 1955, no doubt driven by a drunk spaceman!

[–] AtariDump@lemmy.world 20 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Old man Peabody owned all of this. He had this crazy idea about breeding Pine Trees…

[–] jaybone@lemmy.zip 13 points 1 week ago (3 children)

It’s like half of this is a Back to the Future reference. And the other half I don’t get at all.

[–] LunarLoony@lemmy.sdf.org 15 points 1 week ago (1 children)
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[–] Olhonestjim@lemmy.world 50 points 1 week ago (3 children)

Look, I'm sure in the year 1985 you can get plutonium at the local drug store, but in 1955 it's a bit hard to come by!

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[–] FuglyDuck@lemmy.world 22 points 1 week ago

you should probably run for it, Marty.

[–] Aurenkin@sh.itjust.works 78 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

This is the metal region, the non metal region, the metalloids are here and over here are the felonies.

[–] Kolanaki@pawb.social 38 points 1 week ago (2 children)

They call them noble gasses, but I've never seen them owning land or anything that is typical of nobility.

[–] DragonTypeWyvern@midwest.social 19 points 1 week ago (1 children)

It's because they don't do any fucking work

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[–] FuglyDuck@lemmy.world 57 points 1 week ago (2 children)

pretty sure.... there's nothing illegal about buying plutonium for a elements collection. Pretty sure, also there's a lab supply somewhere in australia that keeps the samples in stock.

Also pretty the russians are having a pretty decent sale on polonium, if you're looking for that.

[–] ryannathans@aussie.zone 31 points 1 week ago (3 children)

Australia has a treaty that says ALL plutonium in the country must be documented and accounted for. The country is not allowed more than 1KG in total

[–] treadful@lemmy.zip 16 points 1 week ago (3 children)

The country is not allowed more than 1KG in total

How does that work?

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[–] Cort@lemmy.world 27 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Probably depends on how much they tried to import. 1mg is probably no big deal, but 1Mg would be.

[–] FuglyDuck@lemmy.world 14 points 1 week ago (10 children)

Out of curiosity and for strictly not-remotely-nefarious reasons, how expensive would a megagram be?

I assume they just bought Ike, a centimeter cube of the stuff. (Which is a common thing for this kind of collector. Most solids come in centimeter cubes if they’re not particularly spicy.)

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[–] Blackmist@feddit.uk 42 points 1 week ago (3 children)

Well that's stupid. In a couple of billion years he'll have to get more!

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[–] Trainguyrom@reddthat.com 38 points 1 week ago (1 children)

God forbid men have hobbies smdh

[–] _stranger_@lemmy.world 3 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Gentlemen, this is democracy manifest.

[–] silverlightBeing@lemmy.ml 2 points 6 days ago (1 children)

But what is the charge? Collecting the elements of a succulent periodic table?

[–] _stranger_@lemmy.world 3 points 5 days ago

GET YOUR HANDS OFF MY PLUTONIUM!

[–] libra00@lemmy.world 34 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I have to assume he's working backwards, because if he'd gotten to Astatine we'd know.

[–] Tar_alcaran@sh.itjust.works 17 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (3 children)

I doubt he's working backwards. Those heavier elements decay before you get halfway through blinking. And most of them kill while doing it.

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[–] finitebanjo@lemmy.world 31 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Here is how you get your hands on plutonium legally.

In both cases it may still be illegal to smuggle into the country and therefor you will need a local supplier after obtaining the proper license. The permit process asks you what amounts you will obtain and who the supplier will be even before permission is issued. The easiest and least harmful would likely be an ore containing trace amounts of a safer isotope. For higher purity you would need a refined product likely only available at government facilities and contractors.

Ever since the Nuclear Boyscout incident it's been a lot harder to obtain radioactive elements without tons of paperwork and red tape, and for good reasons.

In Australia:

Permit to Possess Nuclear Material LINK HERE

in the USA:

Get a certificate to use depleted uranium under a general license LINK HERE

EDIT: You WILL have a surprise inspection and tbey WILL confiscate harmful materials if you don't have a license and specific need for them, eg polonium.

[–] Fedizen@lemmy.world 25 points 1 week ago

This nerd did nothing wrong, now they're training him to be a hardened criminal

[–] NigelFrobisher@aussie.zone 16 points 1 week ago (1 children)

How was he planning to get Oganesson?

[–] ziggurat@lemmy.world 4 points 6 days ago

Maybe he was oganessing a solution

[–] TheBrideWoreCrimson@sopuli.xyz 13 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Going down a Wikipedia Plutonium rabbit hole, I just realized that the Metropolis algorithm was named after a real person.

[–] Stamau123@lemmy.world 6 points 6 days ago (2 children)

Dr. Metropolis sounds like a superhero

[–] SpaceCowboy@lemmy.ca 7 points 6 days ago

Spoliers: Dr. Metropolis is revealed to be a villain that was working against the heroes the whole time.

[–] chatokun@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 points 6 days ago

It's Dr Manhattan at home

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