LEDs and Planck’s Constant Lab

Group Members: Arjun, Frank, Madison

Purpose:
The purpose of this lab was to determine Planck’s constant using the energy it takes to
turn on several LED lights and relate their wavelengths to the energy.

Variables:
Manipulated Variable:
- Wavelength of LEDs

Dependent Variable:
- Activation energy

Controlled Variables:
- Power Supply
- Led Connection Setup

Procedure:
1. Ensure the power supply is off and set to zero.
2. Connect an LED to the power supply
3. Turn on the power supply and slowly increase the voltage until the sign of a light
4. Turn the voltage to zero and turn off the power supply
5. Repeat step 1.4 for every LED colour
6. Record the data gathered in a table for further analysis.

Observations:

Colour Red Orange Yellow Chartreuse Green Blue UV Pink

Voltage 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.9 2.2 2.7 2.3

Sample Calculations: Activation Energy

Red LED:

UV LED:

Diagram:

Processed Data:
Colour Wavelength (nm) Voltage Energy (J)
Red 622.5 1.4 2.24E-19

Orange 602.5 1.5 2.40E-19

Yellow 592.5 1.6 2.56E-19

Chartreuse 522.5 1.7 2.72E-19

Green 522.5 1.9 3.04E-19

Blue 462.5 2.2 3.52E-19

UV 397.5 2.7 4.32E-19

Pink N/A 2.3 3.68E-19

Graph 1: Activation Energy (J) vs Wavelength

This non-linear relationship can be linearized using the following conversion with the Planck-
Einstein relation formula.

Analysis
Graph 1 shows the relationship between the activation energy for the LED lights and the
wavelength of the LED lights. The activation energy for the LED lights can be calculated using
the formula: E = qV, where q is the elementary charge, and V is the voltage from the
measurements in the experiment. This produces an inverse relationship between wavelength
and energy, with the trend showing longer wavelengths use less energy and shorter
wavelengths need more energy to activate.

To verify Planck's constant, the graph needs to be linearised to produce a slope which can be
hc
used to calculate the constant. Planck's formula states: E=( ). From this formula, we can
λ
E 1
derive: =h ( )+0 which generalizes to the slope formula: y=m( x)+b .
C λ
Using the slope formula we can determine that:

E
● y equates to the
C
● m equates to the h
1
● x equates to the
λ
● b does not apply

The linearized graph would need to show the Energy ÷ Speed of Light as a function of the
Inverse Wavelength.

The sample calculations for the data table:

E 2.24E-19 J
● Red LED y : C = 3.00E8m/ s = 7.47E-28 J ∙ m/s
1 1
● Red LED x : λ = 6.23E-07 m = 1.61E+06 m
y 2− y 1
● Planck's constant will be determined from the slope calculation m : h =
x 2−x 1

Data Table for Linearization

Reciprocal of
LED Colour Wavelength Energy (J)w
Red 1.61E+06 2.24E-19
Orange 1.66E+06 2.40E-19
Yellow 1.69E+06 2.56E-19
Chartreuse 1.91E+06 2.72E-19
Green 1.91E+06 3.04E-19
Blue 2.16E+06 3.52E-19
UV 2.52E+06 4.32E-19
Pink N/A 3.68E-19

Graph 2

Using the approximation of the slope, two points are chosen on the trendline line to calculate the
slope or Planck’s constant:

The percent of error is determined using the estimated value calculated from the slope and the
actual Planck’s constant:
Conclusion
Inaccuracies:

- Illumination of LED was only measured by the human eye

- Voltmeter accuracy was set to a minimum of 1 decimal place
- Only one LED, and of an unknown frequency was used for the wavelength-to-energy
comparison
- The room was partially illuminated

Reflection

Based on the data collected from the experiment, it is clear that there is a direct
relationship between the wavelength of the LED lights and the amount of activation
energy required to turn them on. As the wavelength of the light decreases, the activation
energy increases, demonstrating a clear correlation between these two variables. By
conducting a thorough analysis of the data and creating a graph of activation energy
versus wavelength, we can derive Planck's constant, a fundamental constant in
quantum mechanics. The relationship between energy and wavelength is described by
the equation E = hc/λ, where E represents energy, h is Planck's constant, c is the speed
of light, and λ is the wavelength. Further analysis and calculations using the
experimental data obtained in this lab will allow us to determine the value of Planck's
constant. This experiment offers a practical way to comprehend the principles of
quantum mechanics and the quantization of energy levels in light.