{"id":4212,"date":"2026-04-24T09:41:44","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T09:41:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/greekablessingindisguise.com\/philoquantum-book-2\/i-kvantiki-siranga\/"},"modified":"2026-08-31T11:37:40","modified_gmt":"2026-08-31T11:37:40","slug":"quantum-tunneling","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/greekablessingindisguise.com\/en\/philoquantum-book-2\/quantum-tunneling\/","title":{"rendered":"Quantum Tunneling"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-page\" data-elementor-id=\"4212\" class=\"elementor elementor-4212 elementor-1679\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-9e1758d e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"9e1758d\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-941bf73 elementor-widget elementor-widget-html\" data-id=\"941bf73\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"html.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"qn-card\">\r\n\r\n    <h2 class=\"qn-title\">\r\n        <i class=\"fas fa-door-open\" style=\"color:#c8a96a;\"><\/i>\r\n        Quantum Nugget #8 \u2014 Quantum Tunnelling\r\n    <\/h2>\r\n\r\n    <div class=\"qn-image\">\r\n        <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/greekablessingindisguise.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/QUANTUM-NUGGET-8.jpg\" alt=\"Quantum tunnelling\">\r\n    <\/div>\r\n\r\n    <div class=\"qn-content\">\r\n\r\n        <p class=\"qn-section-title\">\r\n            <i class=\"fas fa-thumbtack\"><\/i>\r\n            Term of the Day\r\n        <\/p>\r\n\r\n        <p>\r\n            <em>Quantum tunnelling<\/em><br>\r\n            Greek: \u039a\u03b2\u03b1\u03bd\u03c4\u03b9\u03ba\u03ae \u03c3\u03ae\u03c1\u03b1\u03b3\u03b3\u03b1 or \u03c6\u03b1\u03b9\u03bd\u03cc\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03bf \u03c3\u03ae\u03c1\u03b1\u03b3\u03b3\u03b1\u03c2\r\n        <\/p>\r\n\r\n        <hr class=\"qn-separator\">\r\n\r\n        <p>\r\n            In classical physics, an object that does not possess\r\n            enough energy to overcome a barrier turns back.\r\n        <\/p>\r\n\r\n        <p>\r\n            A ball that cannot reach the top of a hill cannot appear\r\n            on the other side.\r\n        <\/p>\r\n\r\n        <p>\r\n            In Quantum Physics, however, a particle may be detected\r\n            beyond an energy barrier, even when its energy would not\r\n            be sufficient to pass over it according to classical physics.\r\n        <\/p>\r\n\r\n        <p class=\"qn-highlight\">\r\n            <i class=\"fas fa-door-open\"><\/i>\r\n            This is called <strong>quantum tunnelling<\/strong>.\r\n        <\/p>\r\n\r\n        <hr class=\"qn-separator\">\r\n\r\n        <p class=\"qn-section-title\">\r\n            <i class=\"fas fa-question-circle\"><\/i>\r\n            How Does It Happen?\r\n        <\/p>\r\n\r\n        <p>\r\n            A quantum object is not described only as a tiny grain\r\n            following a definite path.\r\n        <\/p>\r\n\r\n        <p>\r\n            It is described by a wavefunction, which allows us to\r\n            calculate the probabilities of the possible outcomes.\r\n        <\/p>\r\n\r\n        <p>\r\n            When the wavefunction encounters a barrier, it does not\r\n            fall abruptly to zero at its surface. It penetrates the\r\n            barrier and decays.\r\n        <\/p>\r\n\r\n        <p class=\"qn-point\">\r\n            <i class=\"fas fa-wave-square\"><\/i>\r\n            If the barrier is not excessively high or wide, a non-zero\r\n            amplitude may remain on the other side.\r\n        <\/p>\r\n\r\n        <p>\r\n            There is therefore a probability that the particle will\r\n            be detected there.\r\n        <\/p>\r\n\r\n        <p>\r\n            The particle does not open a real tunnel through matter.\r\n            It does not break the barrier, nor does it temporarily\r\n            borrow energy.\r\n        <\/p>\r\n\r\n        <p class=\"qn-highlight\">\r\n            <i class=\"fas fa-balance-scale\"><\/i>\r\n            Total energy is conserved.\r\n        <\/p>\r\n\r\n        <p>\r\n            The probability of transmission depends on the particle\r\n            and on the barrier\u2019s height and width.\r\n        <\/p>\r\n\r\n        <p>\r\n            The higher or wider the barrier, the smaller the tunnelling\r\n            probability generally becomes.\r\n        <\/p>\r\n\r\n        <hr class=\"qn-separator\">\r\n\r\n        <p class=\"qn-section-title\">\r\n            <i class=\"fas fa-flask\"><\/i>\r\n            Not a Rare Curiosity\r\n        <\/p>\r\n\r\n        <p>\r\n            Without quantum tunnelling:\r\n        <\/p>\r\n\r\n        <ul>\r\n            <li>\r\n                Certain forms of radioactive decay would not occur\r\n                as we know them.\r\n            <\/li>\r\n            <li>\r\n                Nuclear reactions in stars would be far more difficult.\r\n            <\/li>\r\n            <li>\r\n                The scanning tunnelling microscope could not image\r\n                surfaces on the atomic scale.\r\n            <\/li>\r\n        <\/ul>\r\n\r\n        <p class=\"qn-highlight\">\r\n            <i class=\"fas fa-atom\"><\/i>\r\n            This strange phenomenon of the invisible world therefore\r\n            participates in the workings of the visible one.\r\n        <\/p>\r\n\r\n        <p>\r\n            <em>\r\n                The image is symbolic: the luminous trace does not\r\n                represent a real tunnel or a predetermined path\r\n                followed by the particle.\r\n            <\/em>\r\n        <\/p>\r\n\r\n        <hr class=\"qn-separator\">\r\n\r\n        <p class=\"qn-point\">\r\n            <i class=\"fas fa-brain\"><\/i>\r\n            <strong>Keep this in mind:<\/strong>\r\n        <\/p>\r\n\r\n        <p class=\"qn-highlight\">\r\n            <i class=\"fas fa-lightbulb\"><\/i>\r\n            Quantum tunnelling does not turn the impossible into\r\n            the inevitable. It turns something classically forbidden\r\n            into something quantum-mechanically possible.\r\n        <\/p>\r\n\r\n        <hr class=\"qn-separator\">\r\n\r\n        <p class=\"qn-section-title\">\r\n            <i class=\"fas fa-link\"><\/i>\r\n            The Poetic Bridge\r\n        <\/p>\r\n\r\n        <p>\r\n            Physics does not promise us that every obstacle in life\r\n            conceals a secret exit.\r\n        <\/p>\r\n\r\n        <p>\r\n            Nor does it tell us that belief alone will carry us\r\n            through a wall.\r\n        <\/p>\r\n\r\n        <p>\r\n            It does, however, offer us a remarkable image: limits\r\n            that appear absolute within one description may not be\r\n            absolute within a deeper one.\r\n        <\/p>\r\n\r\n        <p>\r\n            The particle does not hope.\r\n        <\/p>\r\n\r\n        <p>\r\n            It does not persevere.\r\n        <\/p>\r\n\r\n        <p>\r\n            It does not choose.\r\n        <\/p>\r\n\r\n        <p>\r\n            The human soul, however, may borrow one thought from nature:\r\n        <\/p>\r\n\r\n        <p class=\"qn-highlight\">\r\n            <i class=\"fas fa-feather-alt\"><\/i>\r\n            When facing a barrier, let us not immediately call\r\n            impossible what we do not yet understand.\r\n        <\/p>\r\n\r\n        <p>\r\n            Some ways through do not look like roads.\r\n        <\/p>\r\n\r\n        <p>\r\n            They reveal themselves only when we learn to read\r\n            the obstacle differently.\r\n        <\/p>\r\n\r\n        <hr class=\"qn-separator\">\r\n\r\n        <p>\r\n            <small>\r\n                <strong>Scientific reference:<\/strong>\r\n                The actual tunnelling of electrons through a barrier\r\n                has been experimentally confirmed, among other cases,\r\n                through measurements of vacuum tunnelling between\r\n                metallic electrodes conducted by the\r\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/nvlpubs.nist.gov\/nistpubs\/jres\/091\/jresv91n4p171_A1b.pdf\"\r\n                   target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\r\n                    National Bureau of Standards\/NIST\r\n                <\/a>.\r\n            <\/small>\r\n        <\/p>\r\n\r\n    <\/div>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-a539f85 elementor-widget elementor-widget-html\" data-id=\"a539f85\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"html.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"#\" onclick=\"goBack(event)\" class=\"qn-back-link\">\r\n    <i class=\"fas fa-arrow-left\"><\/i>\r\n Back\r\n<\/a>\r\n\r\n<script>\r\nfunction goBack(e) {\r\n    e.preventDefault();\r\n\r\n    if (document.referrer && document.referrer !== window.location.href) {\r\n        history.back();\r\n    } else {\r\n        window.location.href = \"\/en\/philoquantum-book-2\/\";\r\n    }\r\n}\r\n<\/script>\r\n<style>\r\n    .qn-back-link {\r\n\r\n    font-size: 15px;\r\n    color: #777;\r\n    text-decoration: none;\r\n    letter-spacing: 0.5px;\r\n    transition: 0.2s;\r\n}\r\n\r\n.qn-back-link i {\r\n    margin-right: 6px;\r\n    color: #c8a96a;\r\n}\r\n\r\n.qn-back-link:hover {\r\n    color: #000;\r\n}\r\n<\/style>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Quantum Nugget #8 \u2014 Quantum Tunnelling Term of the Day Quantum tunnelling Greek: \u039a\u03b2\u03b1\u03bd\u03c4\u03b9\u03ba\u03ae \u03c3\u03ae\u03c1\u03b1\u03b3\u03b3\u03b1 or \u03c6\u03b1\u03b9\u03bd\u03cc\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03bf \u03c3\u03ae\u03c1\u03b1\u03b3\u03b3\u03b1\u03c2 In classical physics, an object that does not possess enough energy to overcome a barrier turns back. A ball that cannot reach the top of a hill cannot appear on the other side. In Quantum Physics, however, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":3879,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_eb_attr":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-4212","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"blocksy_meta":[],"acf":[],"_hostinger_reach_plugin_has_subscription_block":false,"_hostinger_reach_plugin_is_elementor":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/greekablessingindisguise.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4212","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/greekablessingindisguise.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/greekablessingindisguise.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greekablessingindisguise.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greekablessingindisguise.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4212"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/greekablessingindisguise.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4212\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6764,"href":"https:\/\/greekablessingindisguise.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4212\/revisions\/6764"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greekablessingindisguise.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3879"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/greekablessingindisguise.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4212"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}