Tunnel effect, quantum beyond science fiction
Tester. Perhaps this adjective is one of those that best defines the quantum discipline, which challenges our understanding of the world around us and raises doubts about what we really understand and what we don’t. A very characteristic phenomenon of this branch of physics – and one of the most interesting and attractive due to its uniqueness – is the tunnel effect, a phenomenon that allows particles to “jump” or “pass through” barriers which, according to classical laws, should be irresistible.
However, the most interesting thing is that although this effect may sound like science fiction or belonging to stories about spaceships that jump from one point of the Universe to another, breaking invisible barriers, this phenomenon is not only real, but also has practical applications. .in our daily life and in various fields of science and technology.
REVOLUTIONARY CONCEPT
The tunnel effect was one of the first concepts to emerge from quantum mechanics in the 1920s, as a result of the research of important figures such as Max Born, Werner Heisenberg and Erwin Schrödinger, who explored Wave nature subatomic particles. For his part, physicist Friedrich Hund was responsible for coining the term “tunnel effect” in 1927, describing how particles can penetrate the atmosphere.potential barriers without sufficient classical energy to overcome them, thereby defying ordinary physical laws.
The tunneling effect has been the subject of intense experimental and theoretical research for decades, including key experiments such as the potential barrier experiment conducted by Brian Josephson in the 1960s. This experiment demonstrated that. Electron pairs can cross potential barriers without losing energy., thereby confirming the predictions of quantum mechanics and the hypotheses of other theoretical physicists. It was this experiment that confirmed the existence of the tunnel effect and made it one of the foundations of quantum theory.
Now, with the passage of time, the study of the tunnel effect has evolved and become enriched with the participation of numerous scientists and theoretical physicists. From the understanding of nuclear processes in stars to its applications in electronics and nanotechnology, the tunnel effect has become a ubiquitous and widely universal phenomenon.
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WHAT IS THE TUNNEL EFFECT?
Answering the question of what the tunnel effect is without going into technical details is not an easy task, but a simplified explanation can be given to illustrate what this unique process consists of. Imagine that you have a ball that is rolling down a mountain. According to the laws of classical physics, the ball will tend roll downfollowing the slope of the mountain: if I wanted to go up to the top and then go down, the ball will require additional energy it pushed her up the hill.
Representative diagram of the tunnel effect. The blue color, labeled “classical path”, shows the path that a particle should follow according to classical physics. The yellow color, described as the “quantum mechanical path (tunnel)”, shows the actual path that the particle follows when the tunnel effect occurs.
However, in quantum mechanics, the same ball can “pass through” a mountain without the need for additional energy. In more technical terms this phenomenon is known as “quantum tunneling“, using this metaphor to refer to an invisible tunnel that would connect both sides of the mountain below the peak and through which the ball could pass perfectly. Well, this example can be extrapolated to subatomic particles such as electrons, which They will be able to “jump” over certain energy barriers. without having to have enough energy to overcome them according to the laws of classical physics.
Now, it is important to note that tunneling only occurs on extremely small scales, in the subatomic world. In fact, this is only noticeable when the particles metabolic energy is at a very low leveland is always governed by the second law of thermodynamics – the amount of entropy in the Universe tends to increase over time.
Max Born: the eclipsing father of quantum mechanics
TUNNEL EFFECT IN THE REAL WORLD
However, despite this manifestation at the subatomic scale, its practical applications are very wide and varied, covering a wide variety of areas. For example, one of the most important applications of the tunnel effect is in electronics and in the design of current-carrying deviceswhich take advantage of quantum tunneling to create abrupt changes in the flow of electrical current, allowing faster and more efficient switching than more traditional devices.
also in exploration and manipulation of structures at the nanometer scale This is a phenomenon of great importance, especially in connection with tunnel microscopy (STM). Thus, STM uses the tunneling effect to study and visualize surfaces at the atomic level, which has enabled significant advances in the understanding and design of nanoscale materials and devices. It is also important for the production and operation of nanodevices such as carbon nanotubes or quantum dots, the protagonists of the 2023 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
Even in medicine highlights the tunnel effect, where it began to be explored for use in diagnosis and treatment. For example, Tunneling Magnetic Resonance Imaging (TQMR) is a technique that uses tunneling to improve the sensitivity and accuracy of medical imaging, providing early detection of diseases as well as medical conditions, including unprecedented resolution.