Brownian particles in a double-well potential. Noise drives rare barrier crossings. Escape rate follows Arrhenius: Γ ∝ exp(−ΔU/kT). Watch thermal activation in real time.
Kramers (1940) derived the thermal escape rate for a Brownian particle in a metastable potential well: Γ = (ω₀ ω_b)/(2πγ) · exp(−ΔU/kT), where ω₀ is well frequency, ω_b barrier frequency. This underpins chemical reaction rates, protein folding, and transistor noise.