1 Introduction and Theory

When light shines on a metal surface, electrons are found to be emitted from the
surface. This phenomenon is called the photoelectric effect. In this experiment
we want to verify the relationship between the frequency of the incident light,
stopping potential for the liberated electrons, and the work function of the
metal. To accomplish this we will utilize the photoelectric effect to measure the
ratio of Planck’s constant and the electron charge.

The energy of a photon is given by the famous equation

E = hf,

where E is the energy, h is Planck’s constant, f is the frequency of the photon.

Consider the electrons in the metal as being bound in a potential. The binding
energy is called the work function, W0 . Using conservation of energy, The
kinetic energy of the liberated electrons is the difference between the energy of
the incident photon and the work function of the metal:
1
me v 2 = hf − W0 .
2
A common experimental setup for observing the photoelectric effect is to
have a photocell connected to a ammeter and a source of emf (as described more
so in the next section). when the photocell is in the dark (no light shinning on
it), the ammeter reads zero. But when light of a sufficiently high frequency
illuminates the photocell the ammeter indicates a current flowing within the
circuit.