Civilian and military use of nuclear technology

To exploit nuclear technology for civilian purposes, in particular energy production, a variety of facilities – a nuclear fuel cycle – is necessary, comprising reactors and uranium enrichment plants among others. These same facilities, however, produce the fissile materials that are required to build nuclear weapons: plutonium and highly enriched uranium. Thus, nuclear fuel cycle facilities are inherently dual-use. The civilian or military nature of a nuclear program can only be assessed by verifying nuclear programs. This is the task of the International Atomic Energy Agency, which conducts on-site inspections. The development of verification technologies is a topic of on-going research. Besides an introduction into the nuclear fuel cycle and its uses, this talk will address one particular verification approach under development which intersects with particle physics: antineutrino monitoring to verify reactors operations.