Which outcome arises when electron's wave function encounters a potential barrier narrower than its de Broglie wavelength?

💡 Explanation

When an electron encounters a narrow potential barrier, quantum tunneling occurs because the wave function has a non-zero probability of penetrating the barrier, even if the electron's energy is less than the barrier height. Therefore tunneling results, rather than decay, mass increase, or reflection, which require different energy or barrier conditions.

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