4 ms·

Could we keep it perpetually in an excited state that has no amplitude at the centre?

• marcosdumay 5y ago
  It reaches the nucleus by a process of tunneling. You can never completely stop it, but it reacts exponentially to you increasing a barrier.
  • jbay808 5y ago
    An excited state isn't a barrier, it's a state with a higher energy than ground state. Several non-ground-state orbitals have a wavefunction whose amplitude drops to zero toward the centre. An electron won't tunnel to a location where its wavefunction amplitude is zero.
    • zardo 5y ago
      Practical applications, a laser that explodes if you turn it off.