Fusion Energy and the Physics of Burning Plasmas

世界面临着一场全球能源危机。我们的生活水平在很大程度上是由基本负荷电力供应提供的，是不可持续的。聚变发电是一项几乎为零的温室气体技术，它承诺提供数百万年的基本负荷电力，不会出现武器扩散。这一承诺促使国际社会通过致力于下一步技术--实现耗资160亿美元的国际热核实验反应堆(ITER)--来加快聚变发展。在对ITER的预期中，该奖学金将促进澳大利亚核聚变研究的增长，并解决ITER面临的一个重大科学挑战：面对潜在的破坏性血浆不稳定性，我们如何保持燃烧？答案将同时影响到ITER和聚变能的生存能力。

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.