Hydrogen Tunneling

Hydrogen tunneling is a quantum mechanical phenomenon where hydrogen atoms can bypass energy barriers that they would normally need to overcome. Instead of jumping over the barrier, they can "tunnel" through it due to their wave-like properties at microscopic scales. This process is crucial in many natural reactions, such as in enzyme functions in biology and nuclear fusion in stars. It allows chemical reactions to occur at lower temperatures than expected, influencing everything from metabolism in living organisms to the behavior of stars. Essentially, it highlights how quantum mechanics can alter our understanding of chemical processes.