The tunnel effect is an amazing phenomenon, completely impossible from the standpoint of classical physics. But in the mysterious and mysterious quantum world, there are somewhat different laws of the interaction of matter and energy. The tunnel effect is a process of overcoming a certain potential barrier by an elementary particle, provided that its energy is less than the height of the barrier. This phenomenon has an exclusively quantum nature and completely contradicts all the laws and dogmas of classical mechanics. The more amazing the world we live in.
To understand what the quantum tunnel effect is, it is best to use the example of a golf ball launched with some force into the hole. At any unit of time, the total energy of the ball is in opposition to the potential force of gravity. If we assume that its kinetic energy is inferior to the force of gravity, then the indicatedthe object will not be able to leave the hole on its own. But this is in accordance with the laws of classical physics. To overcome the edge of the fossa and continue on its way, it will definitely need an additional kinetic impulse. So the great Newton spoke.
In the quantum world, things are somewhat different. Now let's assume that there is a quantum particle in the hole. In this case, we will no longer be talking about a real physical deepening in the earth, but about what physicists conventionally call a "potential hole". This value also has an analogue of the physical board - an energy barrier. This is where the situation changes dramatically. For the so-called quantum transition to take place and the particle to be outside the barrier, another condition is necessary.
If the intensity of the external energy field is less than the potential energy of the particle, then it has a real chance to overcome the barrier regardless of its height. Even if it does not have enough kinetic energy in the understanding of Newtonian physics. This is the same tunnel effect. It works as follows. Quantum mechanics is characterized by the description of any particle not with the help of some physical quantities, but by means of a wave function associated with the probability of the particle being located at a certain point in space in each specific unit of time.
When a particle collides with a certain barrier, using the Schrödinger equation, you can calculate the probability of overcoming this barrier. Since the barrier is not only energeticallyabsorbs the wave function, but also dampens it exponentially. In other words, there are no insurmountable obstacles in the quantum world, but only additional conditions under which a particle can be outside these barriers. Various obstacles, of course, interfere with the movement of particles, but by no means are solid impenetrable boundaries. Relatively speaking, this is a kind of borderline between two worlds - physical and energy.
The tunnel effect has its analogue in nuclear physics - the autoionization of an atom in a powerful electric field. Solid state physics also abounds with examples of the manifestation of tunneling. These include field emission, migration of valence electrons, as well as effects that arise at the contact of two superconductors separated by a thin dielectric film. Tunneling plays an exceptional role in the implementation of numerous chemical processes at low and cryogenic temperatures.
