Fusion Energy and the Physics of Burning Plasmas

世界面临着全球能源危机。我们的生活水平，主要是由基本负荷电力供应，是不可持续的。核聚变发电是一种接近零温室气体的技术，它承诺提供数百万年的基本负荷电力，不受武器扩散的影响。这一承诺促使国际社会致力于推动下一阶段的技术发展，即160亿美元的国际热核聚变实验反应堆（ITER）。在对ITER的期待中，该奖学金将促进澳大利亚聚变研究的发展，并解决ITER面临的重大科学挑战：面对潜在的破坏性等离子体不稳定性，我们如何保持燃烧？答案将影响ITER和聚变能源的可行性。

The world faces a global energy crisis. Our standard of living, which is largely powered by base-load electricity supply, is unsustainable. Fusion power is a near zero greenhouse gas technology, which promises millions of years of base-load electricity, free from weapon proliferation. This promise has galvanised the international community to accelerate fusion development by committing to the next-step technology-enabling $16 billion experiment, International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER). In anticipation of ITER, this fellowship will foster growth of Australian fusion research, and address a grand science challenge facing ITER: how do we maintain burn in the face of potentially damaging plasma instabilities? The answer will affect both ITER and the viability of fusion power.