India, May 3 -- What Is Quantum Tunnelling?

In the world of quantum mechanics, particles can behave like waves. This wave-like nature is crucial for understanding quantum tunnelling.

Imagine a tiny particle, like an electron, approaching a hill, represented by a potential energy barrier. In the classical world, if the particle doesn't have enough energy to overcome the hill, it would simply turn back. But in quantum mechanics, the particle's wave function, which describes the probability of finding the particle at a specific location, can seep or 'tunnel' through the barrier, even though the particle itself doesn't have the classical energy to overcome it. This is quantum tunnelling.

How Does Quantum Tunnelling Work?

Again, if a ball ...