How to Fall Through Walls: A Theory Explained

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SUMMARY

The discussion centers around the concept of quantum tunneling, which suggests that particles can pass through barriers, akin to the theory that leaning against a wall for billions of years could eventually result in falling through it. Participants reference the Uncertainty Principle and the improbability of such an event occurring within a human lifespan. Additionally, the conversation touches on the monkey theorem, which illustrates the extreme unlikelihood of random events producing significant outcomes, emphasizing that even with infinite time, the probability remains exceedingly low.

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  • Understanding of quantum mechanics, specifically quantum tunneling
  • Familiarity with the Uncertainty Principle in physics
  • Knowledge of probability theory and its implications
  • Awareness of the monkey theorem and its relevance to randomness
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  • Research quantum tunneling and its applications in modern physics
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theperthvan
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I heard of this theory that says if you lean on a wall for a couple of billion years then at some stage you should fall through it. What's this called?
Cheers
 
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Due to the Uncertainty Principle... But the probability of you being Casper is very very very very low.
 
It's more likely that you die before that happens. :smile:
 
theperthvan said:
I heard of this theory that says if you lean on a wall for a couple of billion years then at some stage you should fall through it. What's this called?
Cheers

Crap.

After a couple of billion years you would be, at best, dust.
 
Do you know of the monkey theorem? It states that if you let enough monkeys type on typewriters long enough, at some point Shakespeare's work is bound to come out.
Though it is true that the possibility of this happening is definitely non-zero, I saw a calculation once which assumed a ridiculously large numbers of monkeys and showed that the probability of this happening from the creation of the universe until today was still smaller than something like 10^{-100}.
 
Might the probability be higher, much higher if you constrained it to simple language like maths, instead of English which has many rules? Surely you might get the complete works of Shakespeare in encrypted form too ;p
 

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