- #1
kenewbie
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My understanding of the phenomenon: Occasionally a particle will tunnel through a solid barrier rather than bounce off. Theoretically the same is true for larger, more complex structures, it is just a matter of this happening to enough particles simultaneously. So, If you lean against a wall, as time approaches infinity, you find yourself "falling through" it.
Should this not be observable on an every day basis? Where I am typing this, I see a finite yet very large amount of distinct particle groupings which this could happen to. I see a monitor and keyboard able to fall though my desk, a dozen pens, a soda bottle, a mouse, and so on. Going beyond the obviously huge amount of particles in these things, I see what is probably a few thousand grains of dust on my keyboard.
So, let's call the amount of objects that a single person is observing (and would notice if it tunneled) at any given time N. There are 6.6 billion N's out there. I am not sure long a time it would take for an object to tunnel through, although I am sure it is minuscule. Let us call the amount of "chances" an object has in tunneling through something within one second for T. Now multiply this with the amount of seconds passed since 1928 (yeah yeah, don't nitpick).
Even with very conservative numbers for N and T, this number is very big. No match for infinity, of course, but I would think that it is large enough to get SOME sort of observable phenomenon out if it? So why is it not?
Please enlighten me if you have the time and inclination.
k
Should this not be observable on an every day basis? Where I am typing this, I see a finite yet very large amount of distinct particle groupings which this could happen to. I see a monitor and keyboard able to fall though my desk, a dozen pens, a soda bottle, a mouse, and so on. Going beyond the obviously huge amount of particles in these things, I see what is probably a few thousand grains of dust on my keyboard.
So, let's call the amount of objects that a single person is observing (and would notice if it tunneled) at any given time N. There are 6.6 billion N's out there. I am not sure long a time it would take for an object to tunnel through, although I am sure it is minuscule. Let us call the amount of "chances" an object has in tunneling through something within one second for T. Now multiply this with the amount of seconds passed since 1928 (yeah yeah, don't nitpick).
Even with very conservative numbers for N and T, this number is very big. No match for infinity, of course, but I would think that it is large enough to get SOME sort of observable phenomenon out if it? So why is it not?
Please enlighten me if you have the time and inclination.
k