ABSTRACT
Nuclear reactors have played a critical role in exploring the properties of neutrinos, from the first direct observation of the neutrino in 1956 to current neutrino oscillation experiments. In these lectures, first we will review some properties of reactors as antineutrino sources and the techniques used to detect antineutrinos in experiments. Next, we will discuss the Reines-Cowan experiments , which illustrate many issues relevant for all reactor neutrino experiments. The major part of the lectures is devoted to the use of reactor neutrinos as a tool to investigate neutrino oscillations. Additional details on many topics presented here can be found in the excellent review article by Bemporad, Gratta, and Vogel (Bemporad, Gratta & Vogel 2002).
