On Dec 18, 2011, at 2:31 PM, MJ wrote:
http://io9.com/5868883/mysterious-white-webs-found-growing-on- nuclear-waste
This reminds me of a weak Ni sulfate solution codeposition on aluminum electrodes CF experiment I did years ago. Ni filaments formed in solution - massive amounts, that looked like cob webs. When a filament path formed between anode and cathode, a bright flash disintegrated the filament. It was like a miniature lightning bolt. The really weird thing about it was this happened at a fast rate, yet it was completely silent. It was like a storm in a beaker. There was no cavitation sound. There was no clear indication of excess heat, so I didn't follow up on it. That was an experiment that should have been followed up on for heavy element transmutation. I don't have the tools available for that.
It is remotely possible the radiation, charged particle flux through the fuel rod cladding, or thermal stress, induces nickel or tin metal whiskers to grow to arbitrary lengths.
See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whisker_(metallurgy) This article has some great photos of tin whiskers: http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?articleid=1742110&show=html Google (tin whiskers). Just wild speculation. Best regards, Horace Heffner http://www.mtaonline.net/~hheffner/
