s-c-i-guy:
Quantum Tunneling
Quantum tunneling refers to the quantum mechanical phenomenon where a particle tunnels through a barrier that it classically could not surmount. This plays an essential role in several physical phenomena, such as the nuclear fusion that occurs in main sequence stars like the Sun. It has important applications to modern devices such as the tunnel diode, quantum computing, and the scanning tunneling microscope. The effect was predicted in the early 20th century and its acceptance as a general physical phenomenon came mid-century.
Tunneling is often explained using the Heisenberg uncertainty principle and the wave–particle duality of matter. Pure quantum mechanical concepts are central to the phenomenon, so quantum tunneling is one of the novel implications of quantum mechanics.
