The result also touches on a fundamental question in physics: where does the exotic quantum realm end and the familiar classical world begin? (scientificamerican.com)
The results add to scientists» understanding of topological insulators, but also may contribute to the larger subject that Armitage calls «the central question of modern physics:» What is the relationship between the macroscopic classical world and the microscopic quantum world from which it arises? (sciencedaily.com)
The team's technique is called momentum and energy resolved tunneling spectroscopy, or MERTS, and is based on quantum mechanical tunneling, a process by which electrons can traverse energetic barriers by simply appearing on the other side — a phenomenon that never occurs in the macroscopic, classical world which we inhabit. (sciencedaily.com)