Photoelectric effect

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Lightmatter interaction

In the photoelectric effect, electrons are emitted from matter (metals and non-metallic solids, liquids or gases) as a consequence of their absorption of energy from electromagnetic radiation of very short wavelength, such as visible or ultraviolet light. Electrons emitted in this manner may be referred to as "photoelectrons".[1][2] First observed by Heinrich Hertz in 1887,[2] the phenomenon is also known as the "Hertz effect",[3][4] although the latter term has fallen out of general use. Hertz observed and then showed that electrodes illuminated with ultraviolet light create electric sparks more easily.

The photoelectric effect requires photons with energies from a few electronvolts to over 1 MeV in high atomic number elements. Study of the photoelectric effect led to important steps in understanding the quantum nature of light and electrons and influenced the formation of the concept of waveparticle duality.[1] Other phenomena where light affects the movement of electric charges include the photoconductive effect (also known as photoconductivity or photoresistivity), the photovoltaic effect, and the photoelectrochemical effect. Emission mechanism
The photons of a light beam have a characteristic energy determined by the frequency of the light. In the photoemission process, if an electron within some material absorbs the energy of one photon and thus has more energy than the work function (the electron binding energy) of the material, it is ejected. If the photon energy is too low, the electron is unable to escape the material. Increasing the intensity of the light beam increases the number of photons in the light beam, and thus increases the number of electrons excited, but does not increase the energy that each electron possesses. The energy of the emitted electrons does not depend on the intensity of the incoming light, but only on the energy

or frequency of the individual photons. It is an interaction between the incident photon and the outermost electron. Electrons can absorb energy from photons when irradiated, but they usually follow an "all or nothing" principle. All of the energy from one photon must be absorbed and used to liberate one electron from atomic binding, or else the energy is re-emitted. If the photon energy is absorbed, some of the energy liberates the electron from the atom, and the rest contributes to the electron's kinetic energy as a free particle.[5][6][7]

Experimental results of the photoelectric emission

1. 2. 3. 4. For a given metal and frequency of incident radiation, the rate at which photoelectrons are ejected is directly proportional to the intensity of the incident light. For a given metal, there exists a certain minimum frequency of incident radiation below which no photoelectrons can be emitted. This frequency is called the threshold frequency. For a given metal of particular work function, increase in intensity of incident beam increases the magnitude of the photoelectric current, though stopping voltage remains the same. For a given metal of particular work function, increase in frequency of incident beam increases the maximum kinetic energy with which the photoelectrons are emitted. Thus the stopping voltage increases. (In practice the number of electrons does change because the probability that each photon results in an emitted electron is a function of photon energy.) Above the threshold frequency, the maximum kinetic energy of the emitted photoelectron depends on the frequency of the incident light, but is independent of the intensity of the incident light so long as the latter is not too high [8] The time lag between the incidence of radiation and the emission of a photoelectron is very small, less than 109 second. The direction of distribution of emitted electrons peaks in the direction of polarization (the direction of the electric field) of the incident light, if it is linearly polarized.[9]

5. 6. 7.

Mathematical description
The maximum kinetic energy Kmax of an ejected electron is given by

where h is the Planck constant and f is the frequency of the incident photon. The term = is the work function (sometimes denoted W), which gives the minimum energy required to remove a delocalised electron from the surface of the metal. The work function satisfies

where f0 is the threshold frequency for the metal. The maximum kinetic energy of an ejected electron is then

Kinetic energy is positive, so we must have f > f0 for the photoelectric effect to occur.[10]

Stopping potential
The relation between current and applied voltage illustrates the nature of the photoelectric effect. For discussion, a light source illuminates a plate P, and another plate electrode Q collects any emitted electrons. We vary the potential between P and Q and measure the current flowing in the external circuit between the two plates. If the frequency and the intensity of the incident radiation are fixed, the photoelectric current increases gradually with an increase in positive potential until all the photoelectrons emitted are collected. The photoelectric current attains a saturation value and does not increase further for any increase in the positive potential. The saturation current depends on the intensity of illumination, but not its wavelength. If we apply a negative potential to plate Q with respect to plate P and gradually increase it, the photoelectric current decreases until it is zero, at a certain negative potential on plate Q. The minimum negative potential given to plate Q at which the photoelectric current becomes zero is called stopping potential or cut off potential.[11] i. For the given frequency of incident radiation, the stopping potential is independent of its intensity. ii. For a given frequency of the incident radiation, the stopping potential Vo is related to the maximum kinetic energy of the photoelectron that is just stopped from reaching plate Q. If m is the mass and vmax is the maximum velocity of photoelectron emitted, then

If e is the charge on the electron and V0 is the stopping potential, then the work done by the retarding potential in stopping the electron = eV0, which gives

The above relation shows that the maximum velocity of the emitted photoelectron is independent of the intensity of the incident light. Hence,

The stopping voltage varies linearly with frequency of light, but depends on the type of material. For any particular material, there is a threshold frequency that must be exceeded, independent of light intensity, to observe any electron emission.

The Uncertainty Principle The position and momentum of a particle cannot be simultaneously measured with arbitrarily high precision. There is a minimum for the product of the uncertainties of these two measurements. There is likewise a minimum for the product of the uncertainties of the energy and time.

Index Uncertainty principle concepts

This is not a statement about the inaccuracy of measurement instruments, nor a reflection on the quality of experimental methods; it arises from the wave properties inherent in the quantum mechanical description of nature. Even with perfect instruments and technique, the uncertainty is inherent in the nature of things.

Graphical interpretation of uncertainty principle

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de Broglie
Matter wave
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search This article is about the quantum mechanics concept of all matter having a duality model as a wave. For the ordinary type of wave propagating through material media, see Mechanical wave.

In quantum mechanics, a matter wave or de Broglie wave ( /dbr/) is the wave (waveparticle duality) of matter. The de Broglie relations show that the wavelength is inversely proportional to the momentum of a particle and that the frequency is directly proportional to the particle's kinetic energy. The wavelength of matter is also called de Broglie wavelength. The theory was advanced by Louis de Broglie in 1924 in his PhD thesis.[1]

Uncertainty Principle Important steps on the way to understanding the uncertainty principle are waveparticle duality and the DeBroglie hypothesis. As you proceed downward in size to atomic dimensions, it is no longer valid to consider a particle like a hard sphere, because the smaller the dimension, the more wave-like it becomes. It no longer makes sense to say that you have precisely determined both the position and momentum of such a particle. When you say that the electron acts as a wave, then the wave is the quantum mechanical wavefunction and it is therefore related to the probability of finding the electron at any point in space. A perfect sinewave for the electron wave spreads that probability throughout all of space, and the "position" of the electron is completely uncertain.

Index

The de Broglie relations

The de Broglie equations relate the wavelength and frequency to the momentum and kinetic energy , respectively, as

and

where is Planck's constant. The two equations are also written as

where

is the reduced Planck's constant (also known as Dirac's constant, , and is the angular

pronounced "h-bar"), is the angular wavenumber defined as frequency defined by . Using results from special relativity, the equations can be written as

and

where is the particle's rest mass, is the particle's velocity, is the Lorentz factor, and is the speed of light in a vacuum. )de

Borglies equation

In relating a particle's energy to its wavelength, two equations are used. The first is the kinetic energy equation: Equation Number One: KE = (1/2) mv2 (The second equation is down the page a bit.) There are three symbols in this equation: a) KE stands for kinetic energy b) m stands for mass c) v stands for velocity Equation Number Two: = h/p There are three symbols in this equation: a) stands for the wavelength of the particle b) h stands for Planck's Constant c) p stands for the momentum of the particle