It was just girls who claimed that Diamonds were their best friends and lusted after them. But Nuclear scientists arent immune to the fascination that this blingy stone holds either. However in this case, as can be expected, they have a scientific need for the stones.
Nuclear reactors need huge cooling systems , and when these cooling systems (water based) fail, its the end of the city for which they were built. Since this water is kept under pressure to keep it from boiling away, there is always the risk that the pressure seal would break. This would lead to a nuclear catastrophe.
Diamonds, apart from their looks also happen to be the best heat conductors known to science. Their idea is to add diamond nanoparticles to the water of the secondary cooling system to dramatically improve its ability to transfer heat.
Considering that they dont need whole diamonds, waste diamonds which are otherwise used for cutting and mining could be used for this technology. However it would of course be much more expensive then the simple water based systems. The idea though if it has merit could substantially increase safety of nuclear plants around the globe. With the Oil crisis worsening, Nuclear plants are only going to increase especially in countries with high populations. Such technologies need to be researched immediately and should be assigned more resources.