I was reading this post from this website:
It basically talks about whether fusion can or does happen in the core of Jupiter. I know Jupiter cannot become a star, but I started to wonder if Jupiter is capable of sustaining some constant low levels of fusion. I then started to wonder if a reactor could be constructed to mimic such conditions.
Any answers/opinions to any/all the following questions are welcomed. My questions may be redundant only because I’m attempting to understand fusion from as many perspectives as possible.
1) Assuming there is a perfect mixture of Deuterium and Tritium in the core of Jupiter, would it be possible to achieve some low level of sustaining fusion, considering the core is only about 30,000 C?
2) Fusion requires millions of degrees to ignite. Are there any other criteria that can be met (density, element percent content, pressure, etc) that can drastically lower the temperature needed?
3) If I were to create a small scale of Jupiter in a lab, where its core was the size of a basketball and there were ideal concentrations of Deuterium and Tritium and all other conditions were identical, would some level of fusion occur? If not, what would need to change? Would I have to apply more pressure on the core (and how much)? Would I have to raise the temperature (and how much)?