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Going Nuclear: Notes from the officially unofficial book tour
I work in the analytical labs at one of Europe’s oldest and largest nuclear sites: Sellafield, in northwestern England. I spend my days at the fume hood front, pipette in one hand and radiation probe in the other (and dosimeter pinned to my chest, of course). Outside the lab, I have a second job: I moonlight as a writer and public speaker. My new popular science book—Going Nuclear: How the Atom Will Save the World—came out last summer, and it feels like my life has been running at full power ever since.
A. Z. Akcasu, C. M. Bost, Jr.
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 47 | Number 1 | January 1972 | Pages 104-115
Technical paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE72-A28423
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The concept of multiple-input zero power describing functions is introduced in terms of the nonlinear response of a zero power reactor to a large periodic reactivity input, and the dual-input zero power describing function is calculated explicitly. The effect of amplitude and phase of the second input on the describing function is investigated numerically. The zero power describing function is used to construct the describing function at high power using closed loop feedback circuit theory. This approach allows nonlinear effects and feedback effects to be discussed separately. The nonlinear stability of a two-temperature reactor is investigated using the high power describing function and Nyquist stability criterion with particular attention to the existence and stability of limit cycles. In addition, the discrepancies between various definitions of the describing function are discussed and clarified.