quantum tunneling
A quantum mechanical effect in which particles have a finite probability of crossing an energy barrier, such as the energy needed to break a bond with another particle, even though the particle's energy is less than the energy barrier. Quantum tunneling has no counterpart in classical mechanics, in which a particle can never cross an energy barrier with a higher energy level than the particle has. The emission of alpha rays in radioactive decay is a case of quantum tunneling; though the alpha particles are strongly bound to the nucleus and don't have as much energy as the bond does, they still have a finite probability of escaping the nucleus. The design of transistors and many diodes makes use of this effect. See also radioactivity.
Words nearby quantum tunneling
quantum statistics,
quantum sufficit,
quantum system,
quantum teleportation,
quantum theory,
quantum tunneling,
quantz,
quanzhou,
quao,
quaoar,
quapaw