TUNNELING


Meaning of TUNNELING in English

or barrier penetration

In physics, the passage of a particle through a seemingly impassable energy barrier.

Though a particle's energy may be too low to surmount a barrier in classical physics, the particle may still cross the barrier as a consequence of its quantum-mechanical wave properties. An important application of this phenomenon is in the operation of the scanning tunneling microscope.

Britannica English dictionary.      Английский словарь Британика.