Lecture

Transmission Probability of Protons through a Potential Barrier

In course

Le cours traite les ondes électromagnétiques (optique géométrique et optique physique) et donne une introduction à la physique quantique.

Description

This lecture discusses the transmission probability of protons through a potential barrier. Starting with a jet of protons with a kinetic energy of 5 electron volts hitting a barrier of 6 electron volts and 0.7 nanometers width, the instructor explains the relevance of the barrier and calculates the extremely low transmission probability. By considering the number of protons per second and the transmission probability, it is concluded that it would take an incredibly long time for a single proton to overcome the barrier, making it practically impossible.

Instructor

Alfredo Pasquarello

Alfredo Pasquarello studied physics at the Scuola Normale Superiore of Pisa and at the University of Pisa, obtaining their respective degrees in 1986. He obtained a doctoral degree at the EPFL in 1991 with a thesis on Multiphoton Transitions in Solids . Then, he moved to Bell Laboratories at Murray Hill (New Jersey), where he carried out postdoctoral research on the magnetic properties of carbon fullerenes. In 1993, he joined the Institute for Numerical Research in the Physics of Materials (IRRMA), where his activity involved first-principles simulation methods. In 1998, he was awarded the EPFL Latsis Prize for his research work on disordered silica materials. Succeeding in grant programs of the Swiss National Science Foundation, he then set up his own research group at IRRMA. In July 2003, he is appointed Professor in Theoretical Condensed Matter Physics at EPFL. Currently, he leads the Chair of Atomic Scale Simulation.

Official source

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