Quantum boxes are leaky - PB02

In this second tutorial of the the series on quantum particles in “boxes”, we try to confine a stationary particle inside a square potential well only to find it gets out. The wave nature of quantum particles produces reflection and transmission behaviour that we are more familiar with in the world of classical waves. The implication is that for a finite size well, there will always be a chance that the particle will “tunnel” through the barrier even if it does not have enough energy/momentum to do so from a classical point of view.

This quantum tunnelling is the origin of the exponential decay that’s observed in radioactive elements.

02 - Quantum particle tunnelling through a barrier ^{Observable Notebook}

Created by Matt Lilley

This notebook is the second tutorial in a series that explores the dynamics of quantum particles in a box