The photoelectric effect

Juan David Villabona Guesguan

Hallwachs experiment

Hallwach performed a very simple

experiment: a clean circular plate of
zinc was mounted on an insulating
stand and attached by a wire to a gold
leaf electroscope, which was then
charged negatively. The electroscope
lost its charge very slowly. However,
if the zinc plate was exposed to
ultraviolet light from an arc lamp, or
from burning magnesium, charge
leaked away quickly. If the plate was
positively charged, there was no fast
charge leakage.
Analysis

In 1888 Hallwachs formulated the hypothesis that a conductive plate on which

to focusultravioletlight carries a positive charge because theelectronsare
gouged out.
The phenomenon was called 'Hallwachs-Effect', now called thephotoelectric
effect.
Although Hallwachs experiment was successful, he did not offer any theory
of what was going on.
Albert Einstein and the photoelectric
effect
In 1905, Einstein realized that light was behaving as if it
was composed of tiny particles (initially called quantaand
later calledphotons) rather than continuous waves.
He also found that the energy of each particle was
proportional to the frequency of the electromagnetic
radiation that it was a part of.
Einstein theorized that the energy in each quantum of
light was equal to the frequency multiplied by a constant
h (Plancks constant).
A photon above a threshold frequency has the required
energy to eject a single electron, creating the
photoelectric effect.
The mathematical description of the photoelectric effect
was published on 1905 "On a Heuristic Viewpoint
Concerning the Production and Transformation of Light.
 Einstein described the photoelectric effect using a formula that relates the
maximum kinetic energy (Kmax) of the photoelectrons to the energy of the
absorbed photons (E) and theworkfunction() (also known as w) of the
surface
Kmax=E
Where the first term is the energy of the absorbed photons (E) with frequency
() or wavelength ()

And the second term is the work function () of the surface with threshold
frequency (0) or threshold wavelength (0)

Then we rewrite
Kmax=(-)

The maximum kinetic energy (Kmax) of the photoelectrons (with chargee) can
be determined from the stopping potential (V0).

Then
Relation between maximum kinetic
energy and frequency
The two factors affecting maximum kinetic energy of photoelectrons are
thefrequencyof the incident radiation and thematerialon the surface. As
shown in the graph below, electron energy increases with frequency in a
simple linear manner above the threshold.
 All three curves have the same
slope (equal toPlanck's
constant) which shows that the
energyfrequency relation is
constant for all materials.
Below the threshold frequency
photoemission does not occur.
Each curve has a different
intercept on the energy axis,
which shows that threshold
frequency is a function of the
material.
 The photoelectric effect helped to propel the then-emerging concept
ofwaveparticle dualityin the nature oflight. Light simultaneously possesses
the characteristics of both waves and particles, each being manifested
according to the circumstances. The effect was impossible to understand in
terms of the classicalwavedescription of light, as the energy of the emitted
electrons did not depend on the intensity of the incident radiation.