Indicator of nuclear reactor state

In order to combine information about reactor power and reactivity in one instrument a nuclear reactor state detector has been developed, consisting of an ionization chamber, which measures reactor power and is linked with a pair of deflecting plates of a cathode-ray tube, and of a period meter, the output of which is linked with a second pair of deflecting plates. A signal proportional to the reactor power appears on the first pair of plates, and a signal proportional to reactivity on the other. Thus, at any given moment the position of the beam on the cathode-ray tube screen shows two parameters simultaneously: reactor power and reactivity. A grid of co-ordinates on the screen makes it possible to find values for these parameters. (author)