In a nuclear fission reactor, what is the "blue glow" in the used fuel rods?

Question

In a nuclear fission reactor, what is the "blue glow" in the used fuel rods?

Answer 1

Cherenkov radiation.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherenkov_r...

Answer 2

the glow is caused by cherenkov radiation- the decay particles from the reaction interact with the molecules in the water the rods are stored in not the rods themselves- the glow is from the energy tranfer in the quanta of the electrons in their orbits- when the orbits decay into their normal energy states they emit photons

Answer 3

Cerenkov radiation

You only get the familiar blue glow if the nuclear fuel rods are immersed in water and they have been operating long enough to have become significantly radioactive.