The tunnel effect is when quantum particles sometimes go through a solid object.
If this is possible, then teleportation between, say portal locations throughout the earth, should be possible.
Why or why not?
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6$\begingroup$ Does this answer your question? Probability, quantum physics, and why (can't it/does it) apply to macroscale events? $\endgroup$– AnyonCommented Jul 24, 2022 at 20:58
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$\begingroup$ decoherence, bro $\endgroup$– hftCommented Jul 25, 2022 at 4:30
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$\begingroup$ How is the picture relevant? It is taking up a huge amount of space in the post and seems completely superfluous... $\endgroup$– hftCommented Jul 25, 2022 at 4:32
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2 Answers
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Tunneling is a wave phenomenon, and it's less profound than you think. When a wave enters a region of space where it cannot propagate as a traveling wave, it propagates as an evanescent wave: it keeps going, but it loses amplitude with distance. If such an evanescent wave enters a region where it can again propagate as a traveling wave, it does so. That's tunneling.
It's not at all like teleportation of particles: the wave travels the whole distance.
Use wave models for wave phenomena, particle models for particle phenomena.
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One has to keep in mind that in a frame where quantum mechanics has to be used to describe the data the term "wave" does not describe an individual particle but describes the probability for the particle to be measured at the (x,y,z,t) of the image you show.
The simplest mathematical model of tunneling can be seen here :
According to classical physics, a particle of energy E less than the height U0 of a barrier could not penetrate - the region inside the barrier is classically forbidden. But the wavefunction associated with a free particle must be continuous at the barrier and will show an exponential decay inside the barrier. The wavefunction must also be continuous on the far side of the barrier, so there is a finite probability that the particle will tunnel through the barrier.
italics mine.
If one takes the trouble to use the existing models of wave functions for solids , the probability of particles tunneling through the barrier you show turns out to be infinitesimally small. See also the answer here .
