"Throwing a ball at a solid wall will not cause it to break through."
In our everyday lives (the macroscopic world), this is a fundamental rule. However, in the realm of quantum mechanics (the microscopic world), there exists a phenomenon where particles can pass through an energy barrier—which they otherwise should not be able to overcome—as if a tunnel had been bored through it. This is known as the "quantum tunneling effect."
Person A, who is unhealthy and exceptionally prone to boredom, has shut themselves away in a room. Eventually, growing tired of staying put, they decide they want to escape.
However, a sturdy, high "wall" (an energy barrier) of height V stands in the way of the exit. Given that Person A possesses an amount of "motivation" (energy) E such that E<V, it should be physically impossible for them to overcome the wall and get out.
(In simpler terms: "Person A only has 50 units of power, but the wall requires 100 units of power to overcome.")
Yet, in the world of quantum mechanics, it is possible for Person A to pass through the wall and escape.
The probability T that Person A will successfully pass through the wall and escape (the tunneling probability) is given by the following relationship:
T=(Person A’s personality constant)×(VE)×(1−VE)
(Note: "Person A's personality constant" is a positive constant less than or equal to 1; think of it as a scaling factor to ensure the probability does not exceed 1.)
Person A wishes to escape the room and go out to have some fun—ideally with the highest possible probability of success. Given a fixed wall height V, determine the ratio E/V—where E represents "A's level of motivation"—that maximizes the probability T that person A can pass through the wall and escape.
The ratio E/V can be expressed as an irreducible fraction p/q (where p and q are coprime natural numbers). Provide the value of p+q.
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