Physics: Quantum tunnelling

Atomic Physics Quantum Mechanics
Quantum tunnelling In physics, quantum tunnelling, barrier penetration, or simply tunnelling is a quantum mechanical phenomenon in which an object such as an electron or atom passes through a potential energy barrier that, according to classical mechanics, should not be passable due to the object not having sufficient energy to pass or surmount the barrier.

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Source: Wikipedia
Quantum tunnelling In physics, quantum tunnelling, barrier penetration, or simply tunnelling is a quantum mechanical phenomenon in which an object such as an electron or atom passes through a potential energy barrier that, according to classical mechanics, should not be passable due to the object not having sufficient energy to pass or surmount the barrier.

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What is Quantum tunnelling, and why does it matter? This concept appears everywhere in physics. Once you understand it, a wide range of natural phenomena start to make sense.

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Source: Wikipedia
Deep dive: Quantum tunnelling In physics, quantum tunnelling, barrier penetration, or simply tunnelling is a quantum mechanical phenomenon in which an object such as an electron or atom passes through a potential energy barrier that, according to classical mechanics, should not be passable due to the object not having sufficient energy to pass or surmount the barrier. Tunnelling is a consequence of the wave nature of matter and quantum indeterminacy. The quantum wave function describes the states of a particle or other physical system and wave equations such as the Schrödinger equation describe their evolution. In a system with a short, narrow potential barrier, a small part of wavefunction can appear outside of the barrier representing a probability for tunnelling through the barrier. Since the probability of transmission of a wave packet through a barrier decreases exponentially with the barrier height, the barrier width, and the tunnelling particle's mass, tunnelling is seen most prominently in low-mass particles such as electrons tunnelling through atomically narrow barriers. However tunnelling has been observed with protons and even atoms and tunnelling has been used to explain physical effects with particles this large. Tunnelling plays an essential role in physical phenomena such as nuclear fusion and alpha radioactive decay of atomic nuclei. Tunnelling applications include the tunnel diode, quantum computing, flash memory, and the scanning tunnelling microscope. Tunnelling limits the minimum size of devices used in microelectronics because electrons tunnel readily through insulating layers and transistors that are thinner than about 1 nm. The effect was predicted in the early 20th century. Its acceptance as a general physical phenomenon came mid-century.