QUANTUM TUNNELING REFERS TO THE QUANTUM MECHANICAL PHENOMENON

Quantum tunneling refers to the quantum mechanical phenomenon where a particle tunnels through a barrier that it classically could not surmount. This plays an essential role in several physical phenomena, such as the nuclear fusion that occurs in main sequence stars like the Sun. It has important applications to modern devices such as the tunnel diode, quantum computing, and the scanning tunnelling microscope. The effect was predicted in the early 20th century and its acceptance as a general physical phenomenon came mid-century. Tunnelling is often explained using the Heisenberg uncertainty principle and the wave–particle duality of matter.

Watch:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTodS8hkSDg

Know more:
http://www.physicsoftheuniverse.com/topics_quantum_uncertainty.html
http://abyss.uoregon.edu/~js/glossary/quantum_tunneling.html

Image via Wikipedia Commons:
Quantum tunnelling through a barrier. At the origin (x=0), there is a very high, but narrow potential barrier. A significant tunnelling effect can be seen.