Japanese scientists say they have successfully completed a pilot program that allows them to use cosmic rays to determine the location of nuclear fuel inside the damaged Fukushima nuclear plant.
“The technology enables you to find where nuclear fuel is anywhere in the world," Fumihiko Takasaki, a researcher at the High Energy Accelerator Research Organisation (KEK), told AFP news agency.
The experiment - using a technique known as muon scattering radiography - had been running at a disused nuclear plant in Ibaraki between from February 2012 until last month.
Tiny, high-energy particles called muons are beamed down from space and pass through most materials, including human bones, concrete, and water. They form a consistent stream, with about 1000 moving through one square foot of air on Earth every minute.
While some substances only slightly alter their path, a few block them altogether – particularly the uranium and plutonium used as nuclear fuel. The deflections as a result of these encounters are specific, consistent, and well known to scientists.
By measuring them, they can see an outline of substances impeding the muons, and create a three-dimensional map.
The experiment - using a technique known as muon scattering radiography - had been running at a disused nuclear plant in Ibaraki between from February 2012 until last month.
Tiny, high-energy particles called muons are beamed down from space and pass through most materials, including human bones, concrete, and water. They form a consistent stream, with about 1000 moving through one square foot of air on Earth every minute.
While some substances only slightly alter their path, a few block them altogether – particularly the uranium and plutonium used as nuclear fuel. The deflections as a result of these encounters are specific, consistent, and well known to scientists.
By measuring them, they can see an outline of substances impeding the muons, and create a three-dimensional map.
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