The Photoelectric Effect

Experiments show that under certain conditions electrons can be emitted from a metal surface that is illuminated by electromagnetic radiation. The results of these experiments conflict with classical physics and rather are explained through quantum ideas.

Classical Ideas
Light is a continuous wave Amplitude of wave is related to the energy carried or brightness. This is often called the intensity and is measured in J/s/m2 Frequency of wave is related to colour.

Simple Experiment

If frequency of electromagnetic radiation was above a certain value called the cut-off or threshold frequency electrons are emitted from the photocathode. If frequency is below this value NO electrons are emitted even if intensity is very large. Increasing the brightness when the frequency exceeds the cut-off frequency increases the current. The brightness of the light has no effect on the energy of the electrons emitted. The energy of the emitted electrons depends on the frequency and the metal used as the photocathode.

Energy given to electrons in packets called photons. Energy of photon depends on frequency. Number of photons per second measures the intensity of the radiation.

Explanation
Photoelectric effect is controlled by the conservation of energy. Electrons near to metal surface are most weakly bound. Energy needed to remove these from surface is called the work function, , and depends on the metal. Photoelectric effect equation:

Stopping the electrons

Electrons now have to overcome the repulsion of the NEGATIVE anode When current drops to zero none of the emitted electrons reach anode

Stopping potential
When the current stops, this equations says that the electrons KE is lost due to the work done by voltage of the battery: When this happens the current drops to zero and the voltage is called the stopping

potential.

The intercept on the vertical axis gives the voltage needed to stop all of the electrons. This differs for different cathode materials. Different threshold frequencies means different energy needed to remove an electron from the metal.