MIT makes Nuclear PWRs cooler, safer

MachineShedFred writes: El Reg is reporting that MIT scientists have found a way to reduce the heat load on your standard Nuclear Pressurized Water Reactor from ~1800 C to ~700 C. They found that reshaping the fuel pellets as tubes rather than cylinders that are manufactured for the reactors can greatly increase the amount of heat transfer from the fuel pile to the coolant. This would make for a safer reactor system because you much farther below the melting point of Uranium (2840 C).