Patent Number: 
Section: claims

1. A pressurized water nuclear reactor, comprising:a containment shield surrounding a reactor vessel in which a core having fuel assemblies that contain control rods and fuel rods filled with fuel pellets is disposed;a steam generator thermally coupled to said reactor vessel via a primary flow loop; anda pump for circulating a water-based heat transfer fluid through said core and said steam generator via said primary flow loop, where said water-based heat transfer fluid comprises a plurality of nanoparticles comprising at least one of pyrolytic carbon, carbon black, adamantanes, lonsdaleite, or amorphous carbon dispersed therein. 2. The pressurized water nuclear reactor of claim 1, wherein the plurality of nanoparticles are functionalized. 3. The pressurized water nuclear reactor of claim 1, wherein the plurality of nanoparticles are primarily colloidal. 4. The pressurized water nuclear reactor of claim 1, wherein the plurality of nanoparticles have a mean size that is in a range from 0.5 nm to 200 nanometers. 5. The pressurized water nuclear reactor of claim 1, wherein the plurality of nanoparticles have a mean size that is in a range from 1 nm to 100 nm. 6. The pressurized water nuclear reactor of claim 1, wherein the plurality of nanoparticles have a mean size that is in a range from 40 nm to 100 nm. 7. The pressurized water nuclear reactor of claim 1, wherein a concentration of said plurality of nanoparticles in said water-based heat transfer fluid is in a range from 0.0001 to 10 volume percent of said water-based heat transfer fluid. 8. The pressurized water nuclear reactor of claim 1, wherein a concentration of said plurality of nanoparticles in said water-based heat transfer fluid is in a range from 0.1 to 3 volume percent of said water-based heat transfer fluid. 9. A nuclear reactor, comprising:a containment structure surrounding a reactor vessel in which a core having fuel assemblies that contain control rods and fuel rods is disposed; anda pump that circulates heat transfer fluid comprising at least one of pyrolytic carbon nanoparticles, carbon black nanoparticles, nanoparticles comprising adamantanes, lonsdaleite nanoparticles, or amorphous carbon nanoparticles through a coolant loop that cools the core of the nuclear reactor. 10. The nuclear reactor of claim 9, wherein the pyrolytic carbon nanoparticles, carbon black nanoparticles, nanoparticles comprising adamantanes, lonsdaleite nanoparticles, or amorphous carbon nanoparticles are functionalized. 11. The nuclear reactor of claim 9, wherein the pyrolytic carbon nanoparticles, carbon black nanoparticles, nanoparticles comprising adamantanes, lonsdaleite nanoparticles, or amorphous carbon nanoparticles are primarily colloidal. 12. The nuclear reactor of claim 9, wherein the pyrolytic carbon nanoparticles, carbon black nanoparticles, nanoparticles comprising adamantanes, lonsdaleite nanoparticles, or amorphous carbon nanoparticles have a mean size that is in a range from 0.5 nm to 200 nanometers. 13. The nuclear reactor of claim 9, wherein the pyrolytic carbon nanoparticles, carbon black nanoparticles, nanoparticles comprising adamantanes, lonsdaleite nanoparticles, or amorphous carbon nanoparticles have a mean size that is in a range from 1 nm to 100 nm. 14. The nuclear reactor of claim 9, wherein the pyrolytic carbon nanoparticles, carbon black nanoparticles, nanoparticles comprising adamantanes, lonsdaleite nanoparticles, or amorphous carbon nanoparticles have a mean size that is in a range from 40 nm to 100 nm. 15. The nuclear reactor of claim 9, wherein a concentration of the pyrolytic carbon nanoparticles, carbon black nanoparticles, nanoparticles comprising adamantanes, lonsdaleite nanoparticles, or amorphous carbon nanoparticles within the heat transfer fluid is in a range from 0.0001 to 10 volume percent of the heat transfer fluid. 16. The nuclear reactor of claim 9, wherein a concentration of the pyrolytic carbon nanoparticles, carbon black nanoparticles, nanoparticles comprising adamantanes, lonsdaleite nanoparticles, or amorphous carbon nanoparticles within the heat transfer fluid is in a range from 0.1 to 3 volume percent of the heat transfer fluid. 17. The nuclear reactor of claim 9, wherein the coolant loop is contained within the containment structure. 18. The nuclear reactor of claim 17, further comprising a steam generator, wherein at least a portion of the coolant loop passes through the steam generator. 19. The nuclear reactor of claim 18, wherein a secondary flow loop connected to the steam generator is at least partially external to the containment structure. 20. The nuclear reactor of claim 9, further comprising:a steam generator within the containment structure;a turbine external to the containment structure;a condenser external to the containment structure; andwherein a secondary pump circulates a water-based heat transfer fluid through the steam generator, the turbine, and the condenser.