Quantum Tunneling

By: Mohammad Ali, Yvonne Pham

SRJC
PHYS43, Spring 2014

Origination
The earliest idea of quantum tunneling was
proposed by Louis de Broglie. He proposed
that waves of mater have a wavelength
inversely proportional to their velocity. This
was proposed in 1923. Fast forward 4 years
and Friedrich Hund was the first to make use
of quantum mechanical barrier penetration
when discussing the theory of molecular
spectra in 1927.

Introduction-What is it?
Quantum tunneling falls under the domain of
quantum mechanics: the study of what happens
at the quantum scale. This process cannot be
directly perceived, but much of its understanding
is shaped by the macroscopic world, which
classical mechanics cannot explain.
Quantum tunneling occurs when particles move
through a barrier that should be impossible to
move through according to classical physics.
The barrier can be an insulator, a vacuum, or it
can be a region of high potential energy.

What Is It?
To understand this, particles attempting to travel between potential
barriers can be compared to a ball trying to roll over a hill. Classical
mechanics predicts that particles that do not have enough energy
to classically surmount a barrier will not be able to reach the other
side. Thus, a ball without sufficient energy to surmount the hill
would roll back down. In quantum mechanics, these particles can,
with a very small probability, tunnel to the other side, thus crossing
the barrier. Here, the ball could, in a sense, borrow energy from its
surroundings to tunnel through the wall or roll over the hill, paying
it back by making the reflected electrons more energetic than they
otherwise would have been.
The reason for this difference comes from the treatment of matter
in quantum mechanics as having properties of waves and particles.

Process

Consider a particle with energy E

in the inner region of a onedimensional potential well, V. If
analyzed with classical
mechanics, if E is less than V, the
particle will remain in the well
forever. If E is greater than V, then
the particle can get out of the
well. But this is not the case.
Using quantum mechanics, the
particle can escape even if its
energy is less than V, but the
PROBABILITY is less depending on
the difference of E and V. There is
a possibility that the particle will
tunnel through the potential
barrier and have the same energy
as before.

Process
This process relies on Heisenbergs Uncertainty
principle. Because this process of tunneling relies
on probability, several variables that affect the
probability are:
The mass of the object
The thickness of the barrier
The ability to penetrate the barrier.

BUT just because quantum tunneling relies on

probability, it does not in no way assume that this
process is only theoretical.

Importance
Tunneling plays an essential role in several physical, chemical, and
biological phenomena, such as radioactive decay or the
manifestation of large kinetic isotope effects in chemicals of
enzymatic reactions.
In a case, scientists measured electrons escaping from atoms
without having the necessary energy to do so. The outcome is that
tunneling occurs in less than a few hundred attoseconds. (10^-18
sec). This phenomenon initiates many fast processes, which are
very basic in nature. Quantum tunneling is important because it is a
fundamental process of nature which is responsible for many things
on which life itself is dependent.
It has even been hypothesized that the very beginning of the
universe was caused by a tunneling event, allowing the universe to
pass from a "state of no geometry" (no space or time) to a state in
which space, time, matter, and life could exist.

Application
Radioactive Decay- particle tunneling out of a
nucleus causing radioactive decay.
Cold Emission-Occurs in semi- and
superconductors. The electron jumps from
surface of a metal to follow a voltage. If the
electric field is large enough and thin, it allows
the electron to tunnel through. Important for
flash devices.
Touch Screens/Artificial skin- because it provides
a smaller insulating gap

Future of Quantum Tunneling

In the present day, the world is moving to a
world of nanotechnology. In this technology,
we will definitely need a thorough
understanding at what occurs at the atomic
scale. This includes quantum tunneling. As has
been already said, transistors, scanning
tunneling microscope. This technology already
exists!!! Soon enough it will be in every part of
our everyday.

Simple Summary
Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTodS8hkSDg

Work Cited

http://postezy.com/voh/classes%5CWinter12%5C115BID31%5CPhysicsTod
ay_2002.pdf
http://www.cas.miamioh.edu/~jaegerh/phy293/questions/history.pdf
http://www.livescience.com/20380-particles-quantum-tunnelingtiming.html
http://abyss.uoregon.edu/~js/glossary/quantum_tunneling.html
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/quantum/barr.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTodS8hkSDg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_tunnelling
http://prezi.com/efx2wmk8ovh7/quantum-tunneling-and-its-applications/
http://prezi.com/efx2wmk8ovh7/quantum-tunneling-and-its-applications/
http://profmattstrassler.com/articles-and-posts/particle-physicsbasics/tunneling-a-quantum-process/

The A Team