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1 .This is Scientific American 60-Second Earth. I'm David Biello. Your minute begins now.
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2 .Here's an innovation that just might have prevented the 2011 nuclear power plant explosions in Japan: safer fuel rods.
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3 .Uranium fuel rods contain tiny pellets of specially prepared uranium encased in a sheath of zirconium alloy.
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4 .This metal cladding doesn't corrode and prevents any radioactive bits from escaping.
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5 .It all works fine when the temperature of the rods stays under control.
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6 .But at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, the rods were able to heat up well past design specs.
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7 .And when zirconium gets hot in the presence of steam, it actually splits the water molecules, making hydrogen gas.
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8 .If the hydrogen builds up and encounters a spark, boom.
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9 .Now M.I.T.researchers have come up with a new cladding made out of silicon carbide.
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10 .This material forms very hard ceramics that also find use in everything from car brakes to bulletproof vests.
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11 .It remains to be seen how well the tough ceramic does when bombarded by neutrons at high pressures and temperatures.
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12 .But initial results at temperatures up to 1500 degrees Celsius are promising.
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13 .The research is in the journal Nuclear Technology.
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14 .If adopted, the new cladding would drastically reduce the risk of hydrogen explosions at nuclear power plants.
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15 .And that's the kind of new nuclear that's not controversial.
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16 .Your minute is up, for Scientific American 60-Second Earth. I'm David Biello.
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