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.
Explore membership for yourself or for your organization.
Conference Spotlight
2026 Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
August 24–27, 2026
Dallas, TX|Hilton Anatole
Latest Magazine Issues
Jul 2026
Jan 2026
2026
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
September 2026
Nuclear Technology
August 2026
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
In transition: Commercializing fusion power
Commercial fusion power is closer than ever. There are now around 30 U.S. fusion companies, several of which claim to be on track to connect to the grid as early as the 2030s.
Tokamak and laser inertial confinement approaches benefit from decades of research at facilities such as the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and ITER, with alternative concepts including stellarator, magnetic mirror, and Z-pinch confinement also making notable progress as private and government funding for fusion increases.
Joseph C. Venerus, Thomas E. Bullock
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 40 | Number 2 | May 1970 | Pages 199-205
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE70-A19682
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The problem of computing the time-dependent reactivity from flux measurements is solved for a stochastic-point-reactor model using linear estimation theory. In order to use this method, an appropriate reactivity model must be formed which can be embedded into the reactor system as one of its state variables. A digital filter, designed using Kalman-Bucy filter theory, operates on the sampled neutron-density output of the stochastic reactor and provides estimates of the state variables of the system, one of which is the reactivity. Digital Computer results are used to show the response of the Kalman filter in computing the reactivity from stochastic-neutron-density measurements. The results show that this analytical filter can be used to determine the reactivity from neutron density which has a certain noise content due to the stochastic processes involved in the reactor system.