ChaPtER
3 :
pHotOElecTriC
SCOPE OF STUDY
5 main sub topics students should learn and understand in this
chapter are :
Effect of intensity and frequency of a light wave on the
photoelectrons produced
Photoelectric current against potential graph
Quantitative study of the equations, work function and
threshold frequency
Photon theory of light
Failure of wave optics in explaining the photoelectric effect
PHOTOELECTRIC EFFECT
DEFINITION
DEFINITION
It's
It's been
been determined
determined experimentally
experimentally that
that
when
when light
light shines
shines on
on aa metal
metal surface,
surface, the
the
surface
surface emits
emits electrons
electrons
PHOTOELECTRIC EFFECT
Example : You can start a current in a circuit just by shining a light on
a metal plate.
PHOTOELECTRIC EFFECT
Why do you think this happens?
Well, we were saying earlier that light is made up of
electromagnetic waves, and that the waves carry energy. So if a
wave
of light hit an electron in one of the atoms in the metal, it might
transfer enough energy to knock the electron out of its atom.
PHOTOELECTRIC EFFECT
Example :
PHOTOELECTRIC EFFECT
A metal plate, P and a small electrode, C are placed inside an
evacuated glass tube (photocell).
2 electrodes are connected to an ammeter and a source of emf.
When photocell is in dark, ammeter reads zero (I = 0A).
When light of sufficiently high frequency illuminates the plate, the
ammeter indicates the current following in the circuit.
PHOTOELECTRIC EFFECT
How it works??
Imagining that electrons ejected from the plate by the impinging
radiation flow across the tube from the plate to the collector, C.
That electrons emit when light shines on a metal surface is consistent
with the electromagnetic (EM) wave theory of light : The electric field
of EM wave exert a force on electrons in the metal eject some of the
electrons.
PHOTOELECTRIC EFFECT
PHOTOEMISSIVE
PHOTOEMISSIVE
A
A material
material that
that can
can exhibit
exhibit the
the
photoelectric
photoelectric effect
effect
PHOTOELECTRONS
PHOTOELECTRONS
The
The ejected
ejected electrons
electrons
PHOTOELECTRIC EFFECT
Historically, light has sometimes been viewed as a particle rather
than a wave.
Einstein pointed out the wave theory and the photon theory of light
give different predictions of the photoelectric effects.
Two important properties of light wave are its intensity and its
frequency (or wavelength).
Effect of intensity and frequency of a light wave on the
photoelectron produced is described on wave theory predictions and
photon theory predictions.
PHOTOELECTRIC EFFECT
Wave
Wave Theory
Theory Predictions
Predictions
IfIflight
lightisisaawave,
wave,theory
theorypredicts:
predicts:
1.1. IfIf the
the light
light intensity
intensity increase,
increase, the
the number
number of
of electrons
electrons
ejected
ejected and
and their
their maximum
maximum kinetic
kinetic energy
energy increase.
increase.
Because
Because the
the higher
higher intensity
intensity means
meansaa greater
greaterelectric
electricfield
field
amplitude
amplitude and
and the
the greater
greater electric
electric field
field should
should eject
eject
electrons
electronswith
withhigher
higherspeed.
speed.
2.2. The
The frequency
frequency of
of light
light not
not affect
affect the
the kinetic
kinetic energy
energy of
of the
the
ejected
ejectedelectrons.
electrons.
PHOTOELECTRIC EFFECT
Photon
Photon Theory
Theory Predictions
Predictions
IfIflight
lightisisparticles,
particles,theory
theorypredicts:
predicts:
•• Increasing
Increasing intensity
intensity increases
increases number
number of
of electrons
electrons but
but not
not
energy.
energy.
•• Above
Above aa minimum
minimum energy
energy required
required to
to break
break atomic
atomic bond,
bond,
kinetic
kineticenergy
energywill
willincrease
increaselinearly
linearlywith
withfrequency.
frequency.
•• There
There isis aa cutoff
cutoff frequency
frequency below
below which
which no
no electrons
electrons will
will be
be
emitted,
emitted,regardless
regardlessof
ofintensity.
intensity.
PHOTOELECTRIC EFFECT
Stopping Potential or Cutoff Potential, Vo
The negative potential of the plate 'C' at which the
photo electric current becomes zero. Stopping potential
is that value of retarding potential difference between
two plates which is just sufficient to halt the most
energetic photo electrons emitted.
PHOTOELECTRIC EFFECT
*To
*To determine
determinethe
themaximum
maximumkinetic
kineticenergy,
energy, K
Kmax
max
from
from VVOO,,use
use the
theconservation
conservationof
ofenergy
energy::
Loss
Loss of
of kinetic
kineticenergy
energy == Gain
Gain in
inpotential
potentialenergy
energy
K
K max = eV
max = e VOO
PHOTOELECTRIC EFFECT
If we draw the photo electric curve by plotting the photo electric
current 'I' verses the accelerating voltage 'V', the graph so obtained is
shown below.
Graph shows that there is a saturation current for different
intensities and even when V=0, there is some photo electric current io.
The curve shows that the stopping potential is independent of the
intensity of radiation.
PHOTOELECTRIC EFFECT
I
At intensity III
At intensity II
At intensity I
i Saturation current
Vo V
PHOTOELECTRIC EFFECT
If these curves are plotted for different frequencies V1 and V2 but
with same intensity, the curve shows the behavior as shown.
The saturation current depends upon intensity and not on frequency.
However, the stopping potential becomes more negative from (Vo)1
to (Vo)2 with the increase in frequency.
PHOTOELECTRIC EFFECT
I
Constant intensity
Saturation i
current
(Vo )2 (Vo )1 V
PHOTOELECTRIC EFFECT
OTHER
OTHERFUNDAMENTAL
FUNDAMENTAL LAWS
LAWSOFOFPHOTO
PHOTO
ELECTRIC
ELECTRICEMISSION
EMISSION
The no. of electrons emitted per second i.e. photo current is
proportional to the intensity of incident light.
If frequency of incident radiation is below threshold
frequency, no photo electric emission will take place.
The max. velocity or max. K.E of photoelectrons depends on
the frequency of radiation not on intensity. K.E. Increases with
the increase in frequency.
.
PHOTOELECTRIC EFFECT
The rate at which the electrons are emitted from a photo
cathode is independent of its temperature.
This shows that photo electric effect is entirely different from
thermionic emission.
For a given metal surface, stopping potential (Vo) is
directly proportional to frequency but independent of
intensity.
PHOTOELECTRIC EFFECT
Work
Work Function,
Function, W
WOO
Minimum
Minimumamount
amountof
ofenergy
energywhich
whichisisnecessary
necessaryto
to
start
startphoto
photoelectric
electricemission
emission
# Remember that :
1. It is a property of material.
2. Different materials have different values of work function.
3. Generally, elements with low I.P values have low work function
such as Li, Na, K, Rb, and Cs.
PHOTOELECTRIC EFFECT
All
All the
the photon
photon energy
energy isis transferred
transferred to
to the
the electron
electron and
and the
the photon
photon
ceases
ceasesto
toexist.
exist.
Electrons
Electrons are
are held
held in
in the
the metal
metal by
by attractive
attractive forces,
forces, some
some minimum
minimum
energy,
energy,W
WOOisisrequired
requiredjust
justto
toget
getan
anelectron
electronout
outthrough
throughthe
thesurface.
surface.
IfIf hf
hf << W
Woo ,, the
the photons
photons will
will not
not have
have enough
enough energy
energy to
to eject
eject any
any
electrons
electronsatatall.
all.
IfIf hf
hf >> W
Woo ,, electrons
electrons will
will be
be ejected
ejected and
and energy
energy will
will be
be conserved
conserved
in
inthe
theprocess.
process.This
Thiswill
willcome
comeout
outequation
equation:: hf
hf ==K
K++W
W
IfIfthe
theleast
leastbound
boundelectrons,
electrons, hf
hf ==K
Kmax + W
max + Woo
PHOTOELECTRIC EFFECT
THRESHOLD
THRESHOLD FREQUENCY,
FREQUENCY,ffoo
The minimum frequency of incident light which
can cause photo electric emission i.e. this
frequency is just able to eject electrons with out
giving them additional energy.
PHOTOELECTRIC EFFECT
The particle theory assumes that an electron absorbs a single photon.
Plotting the kinetic energy vs. frequency:
PHOTOELECTRIC EFFECT
This shows clear agreement with the photon theory, and not with
wave theory.
The maximum kinetic energy of ejected electrons increases linearly
with the frequency of incident light.
Kmax = hf - WO
No electrons are emitted if f < f0 where fO is the “cutoff” frequency.
WO = hfO
PHOTOELECTRIC EFFECT
The number of photo electrons depends upon:
The nature of material
The frequency of incident radiation
The intensity of incident radiation
Potential difference b/w the electrons
PHOTOELECTRIC EFFECT
Photon Theory of Light
According to the theory, light is an electromagnetic radiation with a
wavelength that is visible to the human eye.
A photon is an elementary particle that defines the light observed.
According to Einstein, there are three basic or fundamental
dimensions to be considered, when studying the Photon Theory of
Light.
PHOTOELECTRIC EFFECT
1)
1) Intensity:
Intensity: The
The property
property of
of intensity
intensity that
that the
the light
light displays
displays isis related
related
to
to the
the subject's
subject's perception
perception of
of the
the brightness
brightness of
of the
the light.
light.
2)
2) Frequency:
Frequency: The
The property
property of
of frequency
frequency that
that isis displayed
displayed and
and
observed
observed isis actually
actually the
the color
color of
of the
the light
light perceived.
perceived.
3)
3) Polarization:
Polarization: Contrary
Contrary to
to the
the other
other two,
two, the
the property
property of
of polarization
polarization
of
of the
the light
light observed
observed isis only
only weakly
weakly perceptible,
perceptible, under
under
ordinary
ordinarycircumstances.
circumstances.
PHOTOELECTRIC EFFECT
According to the Albert Einstein's Photon Theory of Light, the
intensity of light shining on a metal determines the ability of the surface
to reflect and deflect the light.
It provides for observation the ability of a metal surface to receive and
throw out the light effectively and in an intensity that is observed to be
stronger than any other ordinary surface material.
PHOTOELECTRIC EFFECT
Einstein suggested that, given the success of Planck’s theory, light
must be emitted in small energy packets:
These tiny packets, or particles, are called
photons.
PHOTOELECTRIC EFFECT
Failure
Failureof
of wave
waveoptics
opticsin
inexplaining
explainingthe
thephotoelectric
photoelectriceffect
effect
The
The light
light isis giving
giving its
its energy
energy to
to electrons
electrons in
in the
the atoms
atoms of
of the
the metal
metal
and
andallowing
allowingthem
themto
tomove
movearound,
around,producing
producingthe
thecurrent.
current.
However,
However,not
notall
allcolours
coloursof
oflight
lightaffect
affectmetals
metalsin
inthis
thisway.
way.
No
No matter
matter how
how bright
bright aa red
red light
light you
you have,
have, itit will
will not
not produce
produce aa
current
currentin
inaametal,
metal,but
buteven
evenaavery
verydim
dimblue
bluelight
lightwill
willresult
resultin
inaacurrent
current
flowing.
flowing.
The
The problem
problem was
was that
that these
these results
results can't
can't be
be explained
explained ifif light
light isis
thought
thoughtof
ofas
asaawave.
wave.
PHOTOELECTRIC EFFECT
Waves
Wavescan
canhave
haveany
anyamount
amountof
ofenergy
energyyou
youwant
want--big
bigwaves
waveshave
haveaalot
lot
of
ofenergy,
energy,small
smallwaves
waveshave
havevery
verylittle.
little.
And
Andififlight
light isisaawave,
wave,then
thenthe
thebrightness
brightnessof
ofthe
thelight
lightaffects
affectsthe
theamount
amount
of
of energy
energy -- the
the brighter
brighter the
the light,
light, the
the bigger
bigger the
the wave,
wave, the
the more
more energy
energy itit
has.
has.
The
The different
different colours
colours of
of light
light are
are defined
defined by
by the
the amount
amount of
of energy
energy they
they
have.
have.
IfIfall
allelse
elseisisequal,
equal,blue
bluelight
lighthas
hasmore
moreenergy
energythan
thanred
redlight
lightwith
withyellow
yellow
light
lightsomewhere
somewherein
inbetween.
between.
But
But this
this means
means that
that ifif light
light isis aa wave,
wave, aa dim
dim blue
blue light
light would
would have
have the
the
same
sameamount
amountof
ofenergy
energyas
asaavery
verybright
brightred
redlight.
light.
~~THE END~~
“Genius is eternal
patience”
- MIChELanGeLo
