Dance of the Octopus Electron: What Quantum Tunneling Says About the Nature of Reality ✦
Original: "Field emission tunnelling as a window onto fundamental issues in quantum mechanics"
How electron emission from a tip sheds light on the reality of the wave function, the limits of quantum mechanics, and even the nature of the arrow of time.
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In a strong field, an electron spreads out like an octopus, its tentacles seeping through the barrier. Why doesn’t its body tear apart? The answer may hold the arrow of time. Ultrafast lasers will soon film this dance live.
🎯 An image of chemical bonds in a five-membered carbon ring was obtained at room temperature with a magnification of about 100,000,000×. It’s like examining a cherry the size of Earth and seeing its pit!
🎬 This is reminiscent of both the stargate from 2001: A Space Odyssey and the sentient ocean of Solaris—the quantum world never ceases to amaze with its sci-fi nature.
D\approx\exp\left[-\sqrt{\frac{8m_{e}}{\hbar^{2}}}\int_{z_{1}}^{z_{2}}M^{1/2}(\phi,F,z)dz\right]
Barrier transparency coefficient: the lighter the octopus electron and the narrower the mountain pass M, the higher the probability of leakage.
\Psi_{n}(\mathbf{r})\Psi_{n}^{*}(\mathbf{r})=n_{1}\psi(\mathbf{r})\psi^{*}(\mathbf{r})
Density distribution of electron substance; n1 = 1 electron—the fundamental portion of matter, pointing to reality rather than probability.
Scientists
Niels BohrPascual JordanWerner HeisenbergCharles-Augustin de CoulombJames Clerk MaxwellErwin Schrödingerwave-particle duality
uncertainty principle
Wave Function Collapse
quantum measurement
quantum decoherence
electromagnetism
hydrogen
helium
carbonLaws
Heisenberg uncertainty principleCoulomb's lawPlanck–Einstein relationde Broglie formulaCompton effectRydberg formula