The photoelectric effect

To be a wave or a particle? That is

the question.
Quick overview:
 X-ray machine hits target with electrons and
EM radiation flies out
 In the photoelectric effect, you hit target
with EM radiation and electrons fly out!
 The electrons ejected from the target are
called “photoelectrons”
The setup
 An adjustable voltage is
applied. Voltage can be
forward or reverse
biased (which slows
down the electrons)

 Photoelectrons return to
cathode through an
ammeter which records
the current
Some experimental results:
 If photoelectrons get ejected when you shine
monochromatic light on the target, the current
increases when you increase the intensity (brighter
light = more photoelectrons)
 BUT…above a “cutoff wavelength” no
photoelectrons get ejected no matter how great the
intensity of the incident radiation
 AND…for wavelengths below the cutoff,
decreasing the radiation to very low intensities
does not completely eliminate the production of
photo electrons
Current vs. Bias voltage
High intensity (bright)

Stopping potential

Low intensity (dim)

Reverse bias Forward bias

Stopping voltage vs. Frequency (c/l)

frequency
Interpretation
 Slope is same for all targets
 y intercept is different for different target
materials.
 eDV=hf - fmetal
 f is the “work function” of the metal…the
mininum amount of energy required to
remove an electron.
 h=6.63 x 10-34 is Planck’s Constant!
Interpretation (continued)
 Planck’s EM “quanta” turn out to be real
after all! (?)
 Light comes in energy packets equal to hf
 Each packet acts more like a particle than a
wave
 These light “particles” are called photons
 Rather than continuously absorbing wave
radiation the target is being bombarded by
photons like tiny billiard balls!
Concluding statements
 Einstein figured out the photoelectric effect in
1905 (the same year he developed the theory of
special relativity and explained Brownian
Motion). This is what he got the Nobel prize for.
 I like to think of the the photoelectric equation in
terms of conservation of energy
light energy ejecting electron & KE
KE  eDV
hf = f + KE = f + eDV
So is light a particle?
Or is light a wave?