PHYSICS PROJECT

PHOTOELECTRIC EFFECT

BY

S RHEVAA

XII-B2
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PROJECT CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that the project entitled ___________________________
submitted by ___________________________ to Shrishti Vidyashram Sr. Sec.
School, Vellore for the Internal Assessment of Physics Investigatory Project for
the academic year 2022-2023 is a Bonafide Record of the investigatory work
carried out by him/her under our supervision.

VELLORE – 632014

DATE:

Internal Examiner

External Examiner

Principal
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would like to thank the Almighty for giving me the knowledge, ability
and opportunity to undertake this Investigatory Project and to persevere and
complete it successfully.

First and foremost, I would like to express my gratitude to my physics

facilitator Ms. Soundaryaa Chandramouli., (M.Sc. Physics, B.Ed.), PGT
Physics, Shrishti Vidyashram Sr. Sec. School, Vellore for her guidance,
constant support and encouragement during my project work. The motivation,
appreciation and flexibility permitted during the course have helped me to
complete my project successfully.

I would be very grateful to Mrs. Geetha Srinivasan, (M.C.A. M.Phil.

C.Sc.), Head Mistress, Shrishti Vidyashram, Sr. Sec. School, Vellore, Mr. M.S.
Saravanan (M.A. English, M.Sc., M. Phil. Physics, M.Ed., M.B.A.), Head Of
Schools, Shrishti Schools and Smt. Raju Manu Makhija, Chair Person, Shrishti
Schools for the smooth conduct of the project work and facilities throughout the
course work. I am much grateful to all the faculty members of Shrishti
Vidyashram Sr. Sec. School for their moral support throughout my project
work.

I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to Late. Shri. Manu Makhija,

Visionary Founder, Makhija Foundation for giving me the chance to receive
quality education through this esteemed institution.

I would like to thank for the support and cooperation from my friends at
Shrishti Vidyashram Sr. Sec. School, Vellore. Thanks to all the unaccredited
people who helped me during the project work.

Heartfelt thanks to my parents and family members for their patience and
moral support throughout my project work.
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INDEX
TABLE OF CONTENTST
CONTENT PAGE NO

• INTRODUCTION 4

• DISCOVERY AND EARLY 5

WORK

• PHOTON THEORY OF LIGHT 6

• PHOTOELECTRIC EFFECT 8

• EXPERIMENTAL 11
ARRANGEMENT
• GRAPHS 15

• RESULT 18

• APPLICATION 19

• CONCLUSION 21

• BIBLIOGRAPHY 22
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INTRODUCTION
The photoelectric effect is the emission
of electrons when electromagnetic radiation, such as light, hits a
material. When light of sufficiently small wavelength is incident on a
metal surface, electrons are ejected from the metal. Electrons emitted
in this manner are called photoelectrons. The phenomenon is studied
in condensed matter physics, and solid state and quantum chemistry to
draw inferences about the properties of atoms, molecules and solids.
The effect has found use in electronic devices specialized for light
detection and precisely timed electron emission.

This effect can only be understood only in terms of particle

nature of light. Wave theory was unable to explain photoelectric
effect due to various reasons stated in the further sections of this
project. In a broader definition, the radiant energy may be infrared,
visible, or ultraviolet light, X-rays, or gamma rays; the material
may be a solid, liquid, or gas; and the released particles may
be ions (electrically charged atoms or molecules) as well as electrons.
The phenomenon was fundamentally significant in the development
of modern physics because of the puzzling questions it raised about
the nature of light—particle versus wavelike behaviour—that were
finally resolved by Albert Einstein in 1905. The effect remains
important for research in areas from materials science to astrophysics,
as well as forming the basis for a variety of useful device.
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DISCOVERY AND EARLY

WORK
The photoelectric effect was discovered in 1887 by the German
physicist Heinrich Rudolf Hertz. In connection with work on radio
waves, Hertz observed that, when ultraviolet light shines on two metal
electrodes with a voltage applied across them, the light changes the
voltage at which sparking takes place. This relation between light
and electricity (hence photoelectric) was clarified in 1902 by another
German physicist, Philipp Lenard. He demonstrated that electrically
charged particles are liberated from a metal surface when it
is illuminated and that these particles are identical to electrons, which
had been discovered by the British physicist Joseph John
Thomson in 1897. Further research showed that the photoelectric
effect represents an interaction between light and matter that cannot
be explained by classical physics, which describes light as an
electromagnetic wave.

The photoelectric effect cannot be explained by considering

light as a wave. Consideration of these unexpected behaviours
led Albert Einstein to formulate in 1905 a new corpuscular theory of
light in which each particle of light, or photon, contains a fixed
amount of energy, or quantum, that depends on the light’s frequency.
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PHOTON THEORY OF LIGHT

The particles of light have several properties in common with
the material particles and several other properties which are different
from the material particles. The particles of light are called photons.

Some of the important properties of photons are:

(a) A photon always travels at a speed,

c =299, 792, 458 ms-1 ≈ 3.0 x 108 ms-1 in vacuum. This is true for any
frame of reference used to observe the photon.

(b) The mass of a photon is not defined in the sense of Newtonian

mechanics. We shall ignore this concept. We simply state that the rest
mass of a photon is zero.

(c) Each photon has a definite energy and a definite linear

momentum.

(d) Let E and p be the energy and linear momentum of a photon of

light, and v and λ be the frequency and wavelength of the same light
when it behaves as a wave. Then,

E = hν = hc / λ

and

p=h/λ=E/c

where h is the universal constant known as Planck constant which

has a value of 6.626 × 10 -34 Js = 4.136 × 10 -15 eVs.
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Thus, all photons of light of a particular wavelength λ have the same

energy E=hc/λ and the same momentum p = h/λ.

(e) A photon may collide with a material particle. The total energy
and the total momentum remain conserved in such a collision. The
photon may get absorbed and/or a new photon may be emitted. Thus,
the number of photons may not be conserved.

(f) If the intensity of light of a given wavelength is increased, there is

an increase in the number of photons crossing a given area in a given
time. The energy of each photon remains the same.

For a given wavelength X, the energy of light is an integer times hc/λ.

Thus, the energy of light can be varied only in quantums (steps) of
hc/λ.

The photon theory is, therefore, also called the quantum theory of
light.
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PHOTOELECTRIC EFFECT
When light of sufficiently small wavelength is incident on a
metal surface, electrons are ejected from the metal. This phenomenon
is called the photoelectric effect. The electrons ejected from the metal
are called photoelectrons. Let us try to understand photoelectric effect
on the basis of the photon theory of light.

We know that there are large number of free electrons in a metal

which wander throughout the body of the metal. However, these
electrons are not free to leave the surface of the metal. As they try to
come out of the metal, the metal attracts them back. A minimum
energy, equal to the work function q, must be given to an electron so
as to bring it out of the metal.

When light is incident on a metal surface, the photons collide

with the free electrons. In a particular collision, the photon may give
all of its energy to the free electron. If this energy is more than the
work function φ, the electron may come out of the metal. It is not
necessary that if the energy supplied to an electron is more than φ, it
will come out. The electron after receiving the energy, may lose
energy to the metal in course of collisions with the atoms of the metal.
Only if an electron near the surface gets the extra energy and heads
towards the outside, it is able to come out. If it is given an energy E
which is greater than φ, and it makes the most economical use of it, it
will have a kinetic energy (E - φ) after coming out. If it makes some
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collisions before coming out, the kinetic energy will be less than
(E - φ). The actual kinetic energy of such an electron will depend on
the total energy lost in collisions. It is also possible that the electron
makes several collisions inside the metal and loses so much energy
that it fails to come out.

So, the kinetic energy of the photoelectron coming out may be

anything between zero and (E - φ) where E is the energy supplied to
the individual electrons. We can therefore, write

Kmax = E – φ

Let monochromatic light of wavelength λ be incident on the

metal surface. In the particle picture, photons of energy hc/λ fall on
the surface. Suppose, a particular photon collides with a free electron
and supplies all its energy to the electron. The electron gets an extra
energy E=hc/λ and may come out of metal. The maximum kinetic
energy of this electron is, therefore,

Kmax = hc/λ – φ = hν – φ

As all the photons have the same energy hc/λ, the above
equation gives the maximum kinetic energy of any of the ejected
electrons.

This equation is called Einstein’s photoelectric equation.

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THRESHOLD FREQUENCY:
The threshold frequency is defined as the minimum frequency
of incident radiation below which the photoelectric emission is not
possible completely. irrespective of the intensity of incident radiation.

If the wavelength λ is equal to

λₒ = hc / φ

the maximum kinetic energy is zero. An electron may just come out in
this case. If λ > λₒ, the energy hc / λ supplied to the electron is smaller
than the work function and no electron will come out. Thus,
photoelectric effect takes place only if λ ≤ λₒ. This wavelength λₒ is
called the threshold wavelength for the metal. The corresponding
frequency,

νₒ = c / λₒ = φ / h

is called the threshold frequency for the metal.

Threshold wavelength and threshold frequency depend on the

wavelength used.

Substituting φ = hνₒ , we get

Kmax = h (ν - νₒ)
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EXPERIMENTAL ARRANGMENT
A systematic study of photoelectric effect can be made in the
laboratory with the apparatus shown in the figure below.

Two metal plates C and A are sealed in a vacuum chamber. Light of

reasonably short wavelength passes through a transparent window in
the wall of the chamber and falls on the plate C which is called the
cathode or the emitter. The electrons are emitted by C and collected
by the plate A called the anode or the collector. The potential
difference between the cathode and the anode can be changed with the
help of the batteries, rheostat and the commutator.

The anode potential can be made positive or negative with

respect to the cathode. The electrons collected by the anode A flow
through the ammeter, batteries, etc., and are back to the cathode C and
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hence an electric current is established in the circuit. Such a current is

called a photocurrent.

As photoelectrons are emitted from the cathode C, they move

towards the anode A. At any time, the space between the cathode and
the anode contains a number of electrons making up the space charge.
This negative charge repels the fresh electrons coming from the
cathode. However, some electrons are able to reach the anode and
there is a photocurrent. When the anode is given a positive potential
with respect to the cathode, electrons are attracted towards the anode
and the photocurrent increases. The current thus depends on the
potential applied to the anode.

If the potential of the anode is increased gradually, a situation

arrives when the effect of the space charge becomes negligible and
any electron that is emitted from the cathode is able to reach the
anode. The current then becomes constant and is known as the
saturation current. This is shown by the part bc in the figure. Further
increase in the anode potential does not change the magnitude of the
photocurrent.
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If the potential of the anode is made negative with respect to the

cathode, the electrons are repelled by the anode. Some electrons go
back to the cathode so that the current decreases. At a certain value of
this negative potential, the current is completely stopped.

The smallest magnitude of the anode potential which just stops the
photocurrent, is called the stopping potential.

The stopping potential is related to the maximum kinetic energy

of the ejected electrons. To stop the current, we must ensure that even
the fastest electron fails to reach the anode. Suppose, the anode is kept
at a negative potential of magnitude Vₒ , with respect to the cathode.
As a photoelectron travels from the cathode to the anode, the potential
energy increases by eVₒ. This is equal to the decrease in the kinetic
energy of the photoelectron. The kinetic energy of the fastest
photoelectron, as it reaches the anode, is Kmax = -eVₒ. If the fastest
electron just fails to reach the anode, then

eVₒ = Kmax = hc / λ – φ

or
ℎ𝑐 𝜑
Vₒ = −
𝑒𝜆 𝑒

We see that the stopping potential V, depends on the wavelength

of the light and the work function of the metal. It does not depend on
the intensity of light. Thus, if an anode potential of -2.0 V stops the
photocurrent from a metal when a 1 W source of light is used, the
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same potential of -2.0 V will stop the photocurrent when a 100 W

source of light of the same wavelength is used.

The saturation current increases as the intensity of light

increases. This is because, a larger number of photons now fall on the
metal surface and hence a larger number of electrons interact with
photons. The number of electrons emitted increases and hence the
current increases.
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GRAPHS
• Photoelectric current V/s Retarding potential for different
voltages

• Photoelectric current V/s Retarding potential for different

intensities
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• Electron current V/s Light Intensity

• Stopping potential V/s frequency

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• Electron current V/s Light frequency

• Electron kinetic energy V/s Light frequency

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RESULTS
1. When light of sufficiently small wavelength falls on a metal
surface, the metal emits electrons. The emission is almost
instantaneous.
2. There is a threshold wavelength λ, for a given metal such that if
the wavelength of light is more than no photoelectric effect
takes place.
3. The kinetic energies of the photoelectrons vary from zero to a
maximum of Kmax where,
ℎ𝑐
Kmax = − 𝜑
𝜆

4. The photocurrent may be stopped by applying a negative

potential to the anode with respect to the cathode. The minimum
magnitude of the potential needed to stop the photocurrent is
called the stopping potential. It is proportional to the maximum
kinetic energy of the photoelectrons.
5. The stopping potential does not depend on the intensity of the
incident light. This means that the kinetic energy of the
photoelectrons is independent of intensity of light.
6. The stopping potential depends on the wavelength of the
incident light.
7. The photocurrent increases if the intensity of the incident light is
increased.
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APPLICATIONS
• 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.
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• 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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CONCLUSION
The photoelectric effect is the process that involves the ejection
or release of electrons from the surface of materials (generally a
metal) when light falls on them. The photoelectric effect is an
important concept that enables us to clearly understand the quantum
nature of light and electrons.

According to Einstein’s theory on the photoelectric effect is,

when a photon collides inelastically with electrons, the photon is
absorbed completely or partially by the electrons. So, if an electron in
a metal absorbs a photon of energy, it uses the energy in the following
ways.

Some energy Φ0 is used in making the surface electron free from

the metal. It is known as the work function of the material. Rest
energy will appear as kinetic energy (K) of the emitted
photoelectrons.

The study of the photoelectric effect has led to expanding our

understanding of the quantum nature of light and electrons. It has
further influenced the formation of the concept of wave-particle
duality. The photoelectric effect is also widely used to investigate
electron energy levels in the matter.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Reference links:
• https://www.britannica.com/science/photoelectric-effect
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photoelectric_effect
• https://byjus.com/jee/photoelectric-effect/

Reference Books:
• NCERT Physics textbook – Class XII
• Concepts of Physics (Volume 2) – H.C. Verma