ANS is committed to advancing, fostering, and promoting the development and application of nuclear sciences and technologies to benefit society.
Explore the many uses for nuclear science and its impact on energy, the environment, healthcare, food, and more.
Division Spotlight
Reactor Physics
The division's objectives are to promote the advancement of knowledge and understanding of the fundamental physical phenomena characterizing nuclear reactors and other nuclear systems. The division encourages research and disseminates information through meetings and publications. Areas of technical interest include nuclear data, particle interactions and transport, reactor and nuclear systems analysis, methods, design, validation and operating experience and standards. The Wigner Award heads the awards program.
Meeting Spotlight
2024 ANS Annual Conference
June 16–19, 2024
Las Vegas, NV|Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino
Standards Program
The Standards Committee is responsible for the development and maintenance of voluntary consensus standards that address the design, analysis, and operation of components, systems, and facilities related to the application of nuclear science and technology. Find out What’s New, check out the Standards Store, or Get Involved today!
Latest Magazine Issues
Apr 2024
Jan 2024
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
June 2024
Nuclear Technology
May 2024
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
Commercial nuclear innovation "new space" age
In early 2006, a start-up company launched a small rocket from a tiny island in the Pacific. It exploded, showering the island with debris. A year later, a second launch attempt sent a rocket to space but failed to make orbit, burning up in the atmosphere. Another year brought a third attempt—and a third failure. The following month, in September 2008, the company used the last of its funds to launch a fourth rocket. It reached orbit, making history as the first privately funded liquid-fueled rocket to do so.
V. Rajagopal
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 12 | Number 2 | February 1962 | Pages 218-224
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE62-A26060
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
An experimental investigation has been made of the self-fluctuations in neutron density in a nuclear reactor, and the response in neutron density for random reactivity inputs, using analog correlation techniques. The analysis of self-fluctuations was based on ion chamber measurements of the fluctuations of neutron intensity at various points. Autocorrelation analysis was then used to find the power spectrum of the fluctuations, which has the shape of square modulus of transfer function. A random reactivity input was realized by using an electromechanical system to convert the white noise of a radioactive source into linear motion of a small neutron absorber. Analysis of the response was made by autocorrelating the reactivity input and cross-correlating the reactivity input and the response in neutron density, and determining their spectra. The amplitude and phase of the reactor transfer function were determined from these spectra. Results are presented on some measurements made on a small reactor at Brookhaven National Laboratory. The measured transfer function agrees with the calculated transfer function.