August 3, 2012

Electromagnetic 'Swamps' Don't Always Bog Electrons Down




Electromagnetic 'Swamps' Don't Always Bog Electrons Down

Electrons tunnel through energy barriers together, even though the environment of the particles is electrically messy.

DURHAM, NC - Scientists have designed a simple system to study how electrons travel through energy barriers instead of over them.

This unusual behavior, called tunneling, is the particle equivalent of a person being able to walk through rather than over a mountain. The particle behavior is also one of the most common signs that everyday physics has broken down and quantum mechanics now controls the system.

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