In traditional quantum mechanics, electron tunneling is described as a quantum penetration effect through a potential barrier. This paper proposes a new physical framework based on the Energy Gradient Model 2.0 (EGM 2.0), which reinterprets the tunneling phenomenon from the perspective of electron cloud deformation and energy gradient driving. Experiments show that when an external potential is applied to a stable electronic system, the electron cloud distribution is reconstructed without destroying the basic electronic structure. A clear energy threshold exists: below the threshold, only electron cloud deformation and spatial rearrangement occur, which corresponds to the tunneling effect; above the threshold, the original quantum state is destroyed, leading to quantum transition. The EGM 2.0 model unifies the mechanism of electron tunneling and quantum transition, providing a consistent classical-quantum physical explanation.
In traditional quantum mechanics, electron tunneling is described as a quantum penetration effect through a potential barrier. This paper proposes a new physical framework based on the Energy Gradient Model 2.0 (EGM 2.0), which reinterprets the tunneling phenomenon from the perspective of electron cloud deformation and energy gradient driving. Experiments show that when an external potential is applied to a stable electronic system, the electron cloud distribution is reconstructed without destroying the basic electronic structure. A clear energy threshold exists: below the threshold, only electron cloud deformation and spatial rearrangement occur, which corresponds to the tunneling effect; above the threshold, the original quantum state is destroyed, leading to quantum transition. The EGM 2.0 model unifies the mechanism of electron tunneling and quantum transition, providing a consistent classical-quantum physical explanation.
The Energy Gradient Model 2.0 (EGM 2.0) provides a clear, intuitive, and experimentally consistent framework for describing microscopic particle dynamics. Unlike traditional quantum mechanics, which relies on abstract wavefunction penetration and probabilistic interpretations, EGM 2.0 interprets quantum behavior as energy‑gradient‑driven evolution of electron clouds. The model unifies quantum tunneling and quantum transition under a single physical mechanism distinguished by a critical structural stability threshold. This paper presents a concise introduction to the core concepts, fundamental assumptions, and basic formalism of EGM 2.0. Keywords: Energy Gradient Model, EGM 2.0, electron cloud, energy gradient, quantum tunneling, quantum transition
This paper proposes a classical alternative explanation for the tunneling effect in quantum mechanics. Standard quantum theory describes tunneling as a particle "penetrating" a potential barrier whose energy exceeds the particle's own kinetic energy with a certain probability. However, this explanation focuses only on the mathematical initial and final states, completely ignoring any dynamical process the electron may undergo before the barrier, and lacks a physical picture. This paper argues that tunneling is not an intrinsic quantum property of a single electron, but rather a collective statistical fluctuation event involving multiple electrons: electrons near the barrier, through a series of random collisions in the correct direction, gradually transfer and concentrate kinetic energy onto the electron closest to the barrier, enabling it to instantaneously acquire kinetic energy exceeding the barrier threshold and thus classically fly over the barrier. During the crossing, the electron must do work against the barrier, converting kinetic energy into potential energy; therefore, after crossing, its kinetic energy is reduced and it cannot cross the same barrier again. Tunneling probability is reinterpreted as the success probability of such a "directed energy relay" event. This model is fully self-consistent within the framework of classical electromagnetism and statistical mechanics, requiring no wave functions or probability waves, with a clear physical picture and explicit causal chain. This paper further points out that under strictly single-electron conditions, this model predicts that tunneling will completely disappear, a prediction that stands in fundamental opposition to the standard quantum model and can serve as a decisive experiment to test the two theories.
The tunnel effect, commonly defined as the phenomenon in which a microparticle overcomes a potential barrier that exceeds its total energy, is often cited in quantum mechanics. However, this effect does not actually occur in its described form in nature, and the quantum mechanical interpretation of tunneling does not accurately represent the real physical processes involved, but rather provides a mathematical model. The true physical mechanism of the tunnel effect remains unidentified. An analysis of the tunnel effect reveals that its manifestation creates a “paradox” in classical physics. Explanations based on the Heisenberg uncertainty principle and the wave nature of particles fail to offer a comprehensive understanding of the actual physical process.This study proposes a new explanation of the tunneling phenomenon based on the principles of classical physics and electrodynamics. It is shown that the overcoming of the Coulomb barrier by low-energy microparticles occurs exclusively due to brief localized decreases in potential within the Coulomb barrier, allowing certain charged microparticles to penetrate. The formation mechanism of these short-lived localized regions, which manifest as volume channels with lower potential within the Coulomb barrier, is examined.It is established that the creation of these channels is linked to the properties of atomic nuclear and their associated electric fields. This facilitates the supra barrier penetration of the Coulomb barrier by individual low-energy microparticles that pass through these channels while experiencing a reduction in their total energy. This explanation resolves the “paradox” of the tunneling effect, eliminating the contradiction with classical physics laws.Moreover, the derived estimates of the tunneling process parameters are in qualitative agreement with the results obtained from quantum-mechanical models. The proposed framework aligns with nuclear physics findings, is supported by experimental evidence, and provides a new mechanism for controlling the tunneling effect in various energy-related applications.
A physical model proposed in this paper resolves existing contradictions between wave and corpuscle properties of quantum particles (electrons) in tunneling effect. By means of AFM methods the work shows that the existence of the second electron on the other side of potential barrier is necessary to realize a tunneling effect in a probe-surface system. At this, only quantum mechanical state of the electron — not its corpuscular properties — described by the wave function tunnels (penetrates) through the potential barrier. The presence of the second electron on the other side of the potential barrier is necessary to establish concatenation with the first, so to say, ‘tunneling’ one. At lack of the second electron on the other side of the potential barrier, only tunneling quantum mechanical state of the first electron is possible — without transferring its corpuscular properties.
The quantum tunneling phenomenon has long been explained by quantum mechanics using abstract concepts such as probability waves and wave function collapse. However, the essence of its microscopic physical mechanism—how and why a particle can traverse a classically forbidden region—has never been clearly elucidated, leading to a schism between the physical laws governing the micro- and macro-worlds. Based on the Great Tao Model and the Unified Theory of Atomic and Molecular Structure, this paper, for the first time, constructs a complete, self-consistent, and quantifiable framework for a classical physical explanation. The core of this framework clarifies the microscopic physical mechanisms of "local weakening of the Existence Field" and "formation of a directional field channel", reducing the tunneling process to a deterministic sequence of events: "information coupling → field weakening → channel formation → classical penetration". The study rigorously derives the quantitative relationships between the field strength weakening coefficient, the field channel width, and the penetration probability. Its mathematical form is compatible with the empirical formula of quantum mechanics, but its physical connotation is fundamentally different. Case studies demonstrate that this theory can uniformly explain the atomic-scale resolution of scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), the deterministic energy release in α-decay, and the physical necessity for the impossibility of macroscopic object tunneling. Starting from the first principles of classical physics, this paper provides a new paradigm for understanding tunneling that aligns with physical intuition, has a clear mechanism, and is subject to experimental verification, achieving a logical unification of micro- and macro-physical laws.
This paper proposes the Energy Gradient Model (EGM), which establishes a unified description of the energy density field, gravitational field and quantum wave function evolution by introducing the gradient force and gradient potential. The core hypothesis of the model is that the gradient force is proportional to the energy density gradient, and the energy density gradient is proportional to the square of the absolute value of the quantum wave function. Based on this hypothesis, the classical Schrödinger equation is modified, such that the gradient potential coupling is automatically introduced when the energy density distribution is inhomogeneous, and the model reverts to classical quantum mechanics in a homogeneous field. Based on the experiments of the Mozi Quantum Science Experimental Satellite and ground-based micro-precision experiments, the total energy difference is rigorously defined as the sum of the absolute value of the gravitational potential energy difference and the absolute value of the Earth's rotational kinetic energy difference, and the energy difference-distance constant C is derived. The macroscopic experiment yields C_{macro} \approx 0.0235 J/(kg·m), and the microscopic experiment yields C_{micro} \approx 1.6\times10^{-10} J/(kg·m), with the ratio of the two being about an order of 10^8, which is consistent with the theoretical prediction of EGM. This paper also clarifies the scope of application and limitations of the EGM, which realizes the unification of macroscopic gravity and microscopic quantum systems, and provides a new theoretical framework for quantum entanglement, gravitational gradient effects and the physical origin of fundamental physical constants.