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Affiliation No. 1730992

Session: 2023-2024
A

INVESTIGATORY PROJECT

REPORT

ON

“Experimental Study of the Photoelectric Effect.”

Submitted To:- Submitted By:-

MR. DEEPAK KR. SHARMA PALLAVI KANWAR
DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS CLASS: XII-A
AIS, JAIPUR, ROLL NO.: 11665624

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DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS,
AIS, JAIPUR (RAJ.)
CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that PALLAVI KANWAR bearing Roll Number 11665624
is a student of Class XII-A. She has successfully completed her Physics
Investigatory project titled “Experimental Study of the Photoelectric Effect.”
as per the guidelines of Central Board of Secondary Education for the
academic year 2023-2024.

It is further certified that this project is the individual and bonafide work of
the candidate.

Signature of Physics Teacher : ______________

Signature of External Examiner: ______________

Signature of Principal : ______________

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

It gives me immense pleasure to present the Project on ““Experimental

Study of the Photoelectric Effect.” I would like to express my gratitude
towards my I express my special gratitude to my principal, Ms. Karuna
Nagpal for allowing me to do this project.

I give my special thanks to my Physics Teacher Mr. Deepak Kumar

Sharma for helping me in every regard. Under whose guidance and constant
Supervision the project has been completed. The instruction and Suggestions
given by him have been a major contributor forwards the completion of the
project.

At the same time, I am very thankful to my parents who provided all

necessary things and my friends helping me a lot. I am thankful to CBSE for
giving me this opportunity.

Overall, without the support of all these people this project could not be
successful.

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Table of Contents
CERTIFICATE .................................................................................................. 2

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ............................................................................... 3

PHOTOELECTRIC EFFECT ............................................................................. 5

Schematic Diagram of Photoelectric Effect Set Up .................................... 6

APPARATUS DESCRIPTION ......................................................................... 7

Theory ............................................................................................................... 7

Characteristics of the Photoelectric Effect ................................................ 7

Factors Affecting the Photoelectric Effect ................................................. 7

LAWS OF PHOTOELECTRIC EMISSION ....................................................... 8

Effects of Intensity of Incident Radiation on Photoelectric Effect...... 8

EXPLANATION OF PHOTOELECTRICEFFECT .......................................... 9

THE LINEAR EQUATION ............................................................................. 12

Applications of the Photoelectric Effect..................................................... 13

BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................................................................... 14

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PHOTOELECTRIC EFFECT

he photoelectric effect is a phenomenon in which electrons are ejected from

the surface of a metal when light is incident on it. These ejected electrons are
called photoelectrons. It is important to note that the emission of
photoelectrons and the kinetic energy of the ejected photoelectrons is
dependent on the frequency of the light that is incident on the metal’s surface.
The process through which photoelectrons are ejected from the surface of the
metal due to the action of light is commonly referred to as photoemission.

The photoelectric effect occurs because the electrons at the surface of the
metal tend to absorb energy from the incident light and use it to overcome the
attractive forces that bind them to the metallic nuclei. An illustration detailing
the emission of photoelectrons as a result of the photoelectric effect is
provided below.

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Schematic Diagram of Photoelectric Effect Set Up

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APPARATUS DESCRIPTION

• An evacuated tube has two electrodes connected to

an external circuit.
• The metal plate whose surface is to be irradiated
acts as the anode.
• Some of the photoelectrons that emerge from the
radiated surface have sufficient energy to reach the
cathode despite its negative polarity and they
constitute thecurrent.
• As the retarding potential is increased fewer and
fewer electrons are able to reach the cathode and the
current drops. When V exceeds a certain value V0 no
further electrons are able to strike the cathode and the
current drops to zero.

Theory

Characteristics of the Photoelectric Effect

 The threshold frequency varies with the material, it is different for

different materials.
 The photoelectric current is directly proportional to the light intensity.
 The kinetic energy of the photoelectrons is directly proportional to the
light frequency.
 The stopping potential is directly proportional to the frequency, and the
process is instantaneous.
Factors Affecting the Photoelectric Effect
With the help of this apparatus, we will now study the dependence of the
photoelectric effect on the following factors:

1. The intensity of incident radiation.

2. A potential difference between the metal plate and collector.
3. Frequency of incident radiation.

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LAWS OF PHOTOELECTRIC EMISSION

• There is no time lag between the irradiation of the

surface and the ejection of the electrons.
• At a particular fixed frequency of incident radiation
the rate of the emission of photo electrons i.e. the
photocurrent increases with increase in the intensity
of the incident light.
• Photo electric effect does not occur at frequency
less than threshold frequency.
• At the frequency above the threshold frequency, the
kinetic energy of the ejected electrons depends only
on the frequency of the exposed radiation and not on
its intensity.

Effects of Intensity of Incident Radiation on Photoelectric Effect

The potential difference between the metal plate, collector and frequency
of incident light is kept constant, and the intensity of light is varied.
The electrode C, i.e., the collecting electrode, is made positive with respect to
D (metal plate). For a fixed value of frequency and the potential between the
metal plate and collector, the photoelectric current is noted in accordance
with the intensity of incident radiation.
It shows that photoelectric current and intensity of incident radiation both are
proportional to each other. The photoelectric current gives an account of the
number of photoelectrons ejected per sec.

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EXPLANATION OF PHOTOELECTRICEFFECT
i. The photoelectric effect cannot be explained on the basis of
electromagnetic theory.
ii. In 1905 Einstein proposed that the photoelectric effect could
be understood through the idea proposed by the German
theoretical physicist Max Planck in 2000.
iii. Planck was seeking to explain the characteristics of the
radiation emitted by hot bodies.
iv. Plank assumed that while the radiation is emitted continuously
as little bursts of energy called quanta but propagated
continuously inspace as electromagnetic waves.
v. Einstein proposed that light not only was emitted as quanta at a
time but also propagated as individual quanta, sufficiently
small to be absorbed by the electron.
VII. Planck found that the quantity associated with a
particular frequency ν of light all had the same energy and
that this energy was proportional to ν thatis
E=hν
a. Photoelectric effect can be explained by the following
equation

b. E(=hν) = hν0 + Tmax

c. Here E is the total energy of the
d. Photon incident on the metallicsurface,
b. ν is the frequency of the incident rdiation,
c. ν0 is the threshold frequency of the metal and
d. Tmax is the maximum kinetic Energy withwhich the
electron moves after ejection from thesurface

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In wave mechanics the intensity of radiation is defined as the total

continuous energy falling normal to a surface per second per unit area. In
quantum mechanics intensity should be considered to be related to the
number of photons falling per second per unit area. In this way,
increase in intensity implies increasing the number of photons leading to
increase in number of collisions with the electrons and their subsequent
ejection from the surface. This then should increase the photocurrent.
Thus increase in intensityshould increase the photocurrent.

When frequency is increased the energy of individual photons increases.

The work function is fixed. Hence, the any increase in the energy of
individual photons results in increase in maximum kinetic energy of the
ejected electrons.

Even when V is zero there

is some current. This is due to some
of the electrons coming out have
sufficient energy to reach the cathode
all by themselves. When V is increased
the electrons not having sufficient KE
are also pulled by the cathode and
hence Current increases. For a given
intensity when all the ejected electrons
are pulled by the cathode there are
no more electronsleft to reach the
cathode.This is the saturation current.
When V is made negative and increased
the electrons are repelled. However,
some electrons having sufficient
energy are still able to reach the
cathode and constitute the current. The
value of V when even the most energetic
electron is not allowed to reach the
cathode is known as stopping potential
and the current now becomes zero.

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If the frequency of the incident radiation is fixed Tmax will not change.
Hence, the stoppingpotential will remain the same even if the intensity is
increasedor decreased.

If the intensity of radiation is increased, keeping the frequency fixed, the

number of photons per second will increase leading to more collisions per
second and transfer of photon energy to more electrons. Thus the number of
electrons coming out per second will increase leading to increase in
photocurrent.

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THE LINEAR EQUATION

The photoelectric equation may
be written as follows
hν = hν0 + Tmax
hν = hν0 + eV
V= (h/e)ν –(h/e)ν0

Compare this to the standardlinear equation

y= mx + c

The intercept on the X-axiswill give the threshold frequency.

Theslope of the curve will give h/e.

EINSTEIN EQUATION
E = hν …(1)
K.E. = hν – Φ … (2)
hν0 – Φ = 0 or hν0 = Φ ….(3)

eV0 = h(ν – ν0) ……(4)

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Applications of the Photoelectric Effect

 Used to generate electricity in solar panels. These panels contain metal
combinations that allow electricity generation from a wide range of
wavelengths.
 Motion and Position Sensors: In this case, a photoelectric material is
placed in front of a UV or IR LED. When an object is placed in between
the Light-emitting diode (LED) and sensor, light is cut off, and the
electronic circuit registers a change in potential difference
 Lighting sensors, such as the ones used in smartphones, enable automatic
adjustment of screen brightness according to the lighting. This is because
the amount of current generated via the photoelectric effect is dependent
on the intensity of light hitting the sensor.
 Digital cameras can detect and record light because they have
photoelectric sensors that respond to different colours of light.
 X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS): This technique uses X-rays
to irradiate a surface and measure the kinetic energies of the emitted
electrons. Important aspects of the chemistry of a surface can be
obtained, such as elemental composition, chemical composition, the
empirical formula of compounds and chemical state.
 Photoelectric cells are used in burglar alarms.
 Used in photomultipliers to detect low levels of light.
 Used in video camera tubes in the early days of television.
 Night vision devices are based on this effect.
 The photoelectric effect also contributes to the study of certain nuclear
processes. It takes part in the chemical analysis of materials since emitted
electrons tend to carry specific energy that is characteristic of the atomic
source.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

 NIST Physics Laboratory - X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS).

(https://www.nist.gov/programs-projects/x-ray-photoelectron-
spectroscopy-xps)

 Solar Energy Materials & Solar Cells.

(https://www.journals.elsevier.com/solar-energy-materials-and-solar-
cells)

 Einstein, A. (1917). Über die Quantentheorie der Strahlung.

Physikalische Zeitschrift, 18, 121–128.

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