Photoelectric Effect1

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Photo (light) + electric

A photoelectric effect is any effect in which light


energy is converted to electricity.
First explained by Albert Einstein in 1905

When light strikes certain light-sensitive


materials…
It may cause them to
give up electrons.
Photoelectric Effect
►As blue light strikes the metal foil, the foil emits
electrons.
►Blue light has more energy than red light.

Metal Foil
Photoelectric Effect
►When red light hits the metal foil, the foil does
not emit (give off) electrons.
►Blue light has more energy than red light.
►How could we get more energy into the red
light?
►Try increasing the brightness (intensity).
Photoelectric Effect

►That didn’t work


►Maybe its still not bright (intense) enough.

►Still not working.


►What happens with brighter
(more intense) blue light?
Photoelectric Effect
►More blue light means more electrons emitted,
but that doesn’t work with red.

Conclusion
High FREQUENCY Low Frequency light,
light even from a dim even very bright (very
source can eject intense) cannot
electrons from a dislodge electrons
photosensitive metal
Einstein won the Nobel Prize for the
Photoelectric Effect, not E= mc²
►Light, like all other radiation, is made up
of small particles called photons.
►The higher the frequency, the more
energy the photons have.
►Einstein stated that light interacts
with matter as a stream of particle-
like photons.

►Einstein received the Nobel Prize for


this discovery.
Photoelectric Effect
If a photon hits an atom of a certain material, it may
be absorbed by an electron of that material.

However, if the photon has enough energy, the


electron is ejected, or emitted, from the atom.

In this way, light energy changes into electrical


energy.
Photoelectric Effect
If wires are attached to a photoemittive material,
the electrons can flow along the wires, forming an
electric current.
WHY IS THE PHOTOELECTRIC EFFECT SO
IMPORTANT?
 It helped explain the
particle nature of light.

 It is the basis of the


quantum theory.

 It is used in photocells e.g.


in solar calculators,
alarms, automatic garage
door openers, flash of a
camera
Burglar Alarms
When the light source to the semiconductor is
interrupted by a person walking through the beam
of light, a switch is activated that triggers the
alarm.
Review- Photoelectric Effect
What it is :
The ejection of electrons from certain metals when light falls
upon them. The metals are said to be photosensitive
(sensitive to light)

Who and When:


Einstein explained the photoelectric effect in 1905, but won
the Nobel Prize in 1921

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