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- The Grand Challenge of Fusion Energy
The Grand Challenge of Fusion Energy
Professor Howard Wilson
24 September 2015
7pmSt. Peter’s School Memorial Hall (map)
Ticketed Event
Booking requiredWheelchair accessible
Event details
Fusion energy is released when two light nuclei are brought together sufficiently close that they combine, or "fuse", into a heavier nucleus. Fusion is the process that powers the stars, including our own star - the Sun. It is attractive as an energy source because there is effectively an infinite supply of fuel, and it is inherently safe, produces no greenhouse gas emissions, has no long-lived waste and would be economically competitive. However, achieving the conditions for fusion, which include temperatures ten times hotter than the Sun, is extremely challenging. At such temperatures, the fuel is in a fourth state of matter, called plasma.
In this talk, we will describe our progress towards holding the plasma fuel using a configuration of magnetic fields in a device called a tokamak. We shall explore some of the challenges that face plasma physicists, such as understanding violent plasma eruptions that resemble solar flares, and the plasma turbulence that determines the fusion power that can be obtained in the next generation of tokamaks, including ITER. ITER, which will be the largest international science project on Earth, is designed to produce ten times more fusion power than the power used to heat the plasma to fusion conditions. This will provide a capability to address the final scientific questions that will enable the construction of the first demonstration fusion power plant.
