Quantum mechanics and radioactive disintegration, pp. 127-40 in Physical Review Vol. 33, No. 2, February, 1929. QUANTUM TUNNELING

Gurney, Ronald W. & Condon, Edward U.

Published by American Physical Society, 1929

About this Item

First edition, journal issue in original printed wrappers, of the quantum-mechanical explanation of alpha-radioactivity, according to which the alpha-particle penetrates a potential barrier near the surface of the nucleus by a quantum tunneling process. This was the first application of quantum mechanics to nuclear physics. The process of quantum tunneling has no classical analogue. "To understand the phenomenon, particles attempting to travel across a potential barrier can be compared to a ball trying to roll over a hill. Quantum mechanics and classical mechanics differ in their treatment of this scenario. Classical mechanics predicts that particles that do not have enough energy to classically surmount a barrier cannot reach the other side. Thus, a ball without sufficient energy to surmount the hill would roll back down. A ball that lacks the energy to penetrate a wall bounces back. Alternatively, the ball might become part of the wall (absorption). In quantum mechanics, these particles can, with a small probability, tunnel to the other side, thus crossing the barrier. The ball, in a sense, borrows energy from its surroundings to cross the wall" (Wikipedia). "Among all the successes of quantum mechanics as it evolved in the third decade of the 20th century, none was more impressive than the understanding of the tunnel effect - the penetration of matter waves and the transmission of particles through a high potential barrier. Eventually, five Nobel Prizes were awarded for research involving tunneling in semiconductors and superconductors and for the invention of scanning tunneling microscopy. Tunneling occurs in all quantum systems. It is crucial for nuclear synthesis in stars, and it may also have played an essential role in the evolution of the early universe" (Merzbacher, 'The Early History of Quantum Tunneling,' Physics Today 55 (2002), pp. 44-50). The quantum tunneling explanation of alpha-radioactivity was published independently and simultaneously by George Gamow in Zeitschrift fur Physik. Brief announcements were published in Nature a few months earlier. Large 8vo, pp. 8, 127-296, 9-14. Original printed wrappers (spine sunned). Seller Inventory # ABE-1609765427744

Bibliographic Details

Title: Quantum mechanics and radioactive ...

Publisher: American Physical Society

Publication Date: 1929

Binding: Soft cover

Condition: Near Fine

Edition: 1st Edition