Quantum tunneling

Quantum tunneling is a quantum-mechanical phenomenon in which particles can pass through a barrier. J. Robert Oppenheimer’s first paper describing it, published in 1927, marked a formidable achievement in the early development of quantum physics.

Definition and Description

The phenomenon is described as particles being able to “tunnel” through a barrier. The account presents this as a literal capacity of particles, not merely an image for overcoming an obstacle; it does not elaborate on the mechanism or specify particular particles or barriers.

Oppenheimer’s Paper and Its Significance

A year after his doctoral work on the photoelectric effect in hydrogen and X rays, Oppenheimer published the first paper to describe quantum tunneling. The book places this work alongside his doctoral calculation as a formidable achievement, distinguishing it as a related but separate contribution. Its significance here rests on the novelty of describing the phenomenon; the account does not provide the paper’s title or further details of its subsequent development.