A surprising result of applying the Dirac equation to the problem of electronscattering from a potentialbarrier. In non-relativistic quantum mechanics, electron tunnelling into a barrier is observed, with exponentialdamping. However, if the potential is of the order of the electron mass, , the barrier is nearly transparent; moreover, as the potential approaches infinity, the reflection diminishes and the electron is always transmitted.
Origin
Discovered by physicist Oskar Klein in 1929.
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