Laser pumping is not the only application for NOCs. For example, they were considered as a possible means for initialization chemical processes and for photo-dissociation of water or carbon dioxide. In this case, the full efficiency for the conversion of nuclear energy into the end products of these reactions may reach 10 % when a NOC based on Хе2* (^max = 172 nm) molecules is used [43, 44].

One more possible application of the NOC is the conversion of light emission into electricity. In this case, the efficiency for the conversion of nuclear energy into electrical energy is 30-40 % using dielectric transformers with a wide band gap

(for example, A1N, diamond or corundum) and the appropriate choice for the NOC emission spectrum [43].

Another variant for photoelectric conversion of NOC radiation has been pro­posed [57]. In this case, the study examines the potential for using radioactive waste as a source of energy for pumping NOCs with subsequent conversion of the optical radiation into electrical energy using photoelectric transformers. The main source of ionizing radiations from the spent fuel of nuclear reactors is the y-ray 137Cs (the half-life is 10.7 years, the energy of у-quanta is 662 keV). As an active medium for NOCs, an Ar-N2 mixture has been proposed that primarily radiates in the ranges X = 350-410 and 750-1,050 nm on the vibrational transitions of the N2 molecule. The output characteristics were evaluated for a device consisting of 200 radioactive waste containers, 0.5 m in diameter and 1-m high, placed in three tiers. The expected specific electrical power is about 1 W/kg, and the full electrical power of this device with a 40 m radius (200 containers) may equal to 1 MW.

NOC radiation may also be used for photosynthesis of biological products, for example, microalgae chlorella. For large-scale photosynthesis, a paper [58] pro­poses to develop a NOC whose central part is a solution reactor-breeder on thermal neutrons with uranium-thorium fuel, and the cover consists of a luminescent material. In this case, biomass production may be about 1,000 g/(m2/day). This significantly exceeds the analogous value for solar illumination <150 g/(m2/day).

And, finally, based on the NOC, it is possible to create neutron detectors for operating control of pulsed as well as stationary nuclear reactors. In these detectors, a luminescent emission that has an intensity linearly related to the neutron flux density is withdrawn beyond the biological reactor shielding using light-guide fibers and recorded using photodetectors [59, 60]. Neutron detectors based on NOCs have a series of advantages as compared to ionization chambers: the lack of a power supply; a low sensitivity to y-ray emission; the potential to produce a small NOC for intrareactor measurements; etc.