Download Early observations

Early observations
In 1839, Alexandre Edmond Becquerel observed the photoelectric effect via an
electrode in a conductive solution exposed to light. In 1873, Willoughby Smith found
that selenium is photoconductive.
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Hertz's spark gaps
Heinrich Hertz, in 1887, makes observation of the photoelectric effect and reports his
data in the journal Annalen der Physik of the production and reception of
electromagnetic (EM) waves. His receiver consisted of a coil with a spark gap,
whereupon a spark would be seen upon detection of EM waves. He placed the apparatus
in a darkened box in order to see the spark better; he observed, however, that the
maximum spark length was reduced when in the box. A glass panel placed between the
source of EM waves and the receiver absorbed ultraviolet radiation that assisted the
electrons in jumping across the gap. When removed, the spark length would increase.
He observed no decrease in spark length when he substituted quartz for glass, as quartz
does not absorb UV radiation.
Hertz concluded his months of investigation and reported the results obtained. He did
not further pursue investigation of this effect, nor did he make any attempt at explaining
how the observed phenomenon was brought about.
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JJ Thomson: electrons
In 1899, Joseph John Thomson investigated ultraviolet light in Crookes tubes.
Influenced by the work of James Clerk Maxwell, Thomson deduced that cathode rays
consisted of negatively charged particles, which he called "corpuscles" (later called
"electrons"). In the research, Thomson enclosed a metal plate (i.e., cathode), in a
vacuum tube, and exposed it to high frequency radiation. It was thought that the
oscillating electromagnetic fields caused the atoms' field to be resonated and, after
reaching a certain amplitude, caused a subatomic "corpuscle" to be emitted, and current
to be detected. The current and speed of this current varied with the intensity and color
of the radiation. Larger increments of the radiation intensity or frequency of the field
would produce more current.
Tesla's radiant energy
In 1901 on November 5, Nikola Tesla received the U.S. Patent 685957 (Apparatus for
the Utilization of Radiant Energy) that describes radiation charging and discharging
conductors by "radiant energy". Tesla used this effect to charge a capacitor with energy
by means of a conductive plate. The patent specified that the radiation include many
different forms.
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Von Lenard's observations
In 1902 Philipp von Lenard observed [2] the variation in electron energy with light
frequency. He used a powerful electric arc lamp which enabled him to investigate large
changes in intensity, and had sufficient power to enable him to investigate the variation
of potential with light frequency. His experiment directly measured potentials, not
electron kinetic energy: he found the electron energy by relating it to the maximum
stopping potential (voltage) in a phototube. He found that the calculated maximum
electron kinetic energy is determined by the frequency of the light. For example, an
increase in frequency results in an increase in the maximum kinetic energy calculated
for an electron upon liberation - ultraviolet radiation would require a higher applied
stopping potential, to stop current in a phototube, than blue light. However Lenard's
results were qualitative rather than quantitative because of the difficulty in performing
the experiments: the experiments need to be done on freshly cut metal so that the pure
metal was observed, but it oxidised in tens of minutes even in the partial vacuums he
used. The current emitted by the surface was determined by the light's intensity, or
brightness. Doubling the intensity of the light doubled the number of electrons emitted
from the surface. Lenard did not know of photons.
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Einstein: light quanta
Albert Einstein's mathematical description in 1905 of how it was caused by absorption
of what were later called photons, or quanta of light, in the interaction of light with the
electrons in the substance, was contained in the paper named "On a Heuristic Viewpoint
Concerning the Production and Transformation of Light". This paper proposed the
simple description of "light quanta" (later called "photons") and showed how they could
be used to explain such phenomena as the photoelectric effect. The simple explanation
by Einstein in terms of absorption of single quanta of light explained the features of the
phenomenon and helped explain the characteristic frequency. Einstein's explanation of
the photoelectric effect won him the Nobel Prize of 1921.
The idea of light quanta was motivated by Max Planck's published law of black-body
radiation ("On the Law of Distribution of Energy in the Normal Spectrum". Annalen der
Physik 4 (1901)) by assuming that Hertzian oscillators could only exist at energies E
proportional to the frequency f of the oscillator by E = hf, where h is Planck's constant.
Einstein, by assuming that light actually consisted of discrete energy packets, wrote an
equation for the photoelectric effect that fit experiments. This was an enormous
theoretical leap and the reality of the light quanta was strongly resisted. The idea of light
quanta contradicted the wave theory of light that followed naturally from James Clerk
Maxwell's equations for electromagnetic behavior and, more generally, the assumption
of infinite divisibility of energy in physical systems. Even after experiments showed
that Einstein's equations for the photoelectric effect were accurate there was resistance
to the idea of photons, since it appeared to contradict Maxwell's equations, which were
believed to be well understood and well verified.
Einstein's work predicted that the energy of the ejected electrons would increase linearly
with the frequency of the light. Perhaps surprisingly, that had not yet been tested. In
1905 it was known that the energy of the photoelectrons increased with increasing
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frequency of incident light, but the manner of the increase was not experimentally
determined to be linear until 1915 when Robert Andrews Millikan showed that Einstein
was correct [3].
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Effect on wave-particle question
The photoelectric effect helped propel the then-emerging concept of the dual nature of
light (light exhibits characteristics of waves and particles at different times). It was
impossible to understand in terms of the classical wave description of light, as the
energy of the emitted electrons did not depend on the intensity of the incident radiation.
Classical theory predicted that the electrons could 'gather up' energy over a period of
time, and then be emitted. For such a classical theory to work a pre-loaded state would
need to persist in matter. The idea of the pre-loaded state was discussed in Millikan's
book Electrons (+ & -) and in Compton and Allison's book X-Rays in Theory and
Experiment. These ideas were abandoned.
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Explanation
The photons of the light beam have a characteristic energy given by the wavelength of
the light. In the photoemission process, if an electron absorbs the energy of one photon
and has more energy than the work function, it is ejected from the material. If the
photon energy is too low, however, the electron is unable to escape the surface of the
material. Increasing the intensity of the light beam does not change the energy of the
constituent photons, only their number, and thus the energy of the emitted electrons
does not depend on the intensity of the incoming light.
Electrons can absorb energy from photons when irradiated, but they 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 the energy is re-emitted. If the photon is
absorbed, some of the energy is used to liberate it from the atom, and the rest
contributes to the electron's kinetic (moving) energy as a free particle.
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Equations
In analysing the photoelectric effect quantitatively using Einstein's method, the
following equivalent equations are used:
Energy of photon = Energy needed to remove an electron + Kinetic energy of the
emitted electron
Algebraically:
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Using physicists' symbols:
where h is Planck's constant, f is the frequency of the incident photon, f0 is threshold
frequency for the photoelectric effect to occur, φ is the work function, or minimum
energy required to remove an electron from atomic binding, and Ek is maximum kinetic
energy observed. The work function is sometimes denoted W.

Note: If the photon's energy (hf) is not greater than the work function (φ), no
electron will be emitted.
When this equation is not observed to be true (that is, the electron is not emitted or it
has less than the expected kinetic energy), it may be because when given an excess
amount of energy to the body, some energy is absorbed as heat or emitted as radiation,
as no system is perfectly efficient.
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Uses and effects
Solar cells (used in solar power) and light-sensitive diodes use the photoelectric effect.
They absorb photons from light and put the energy into electrons, creating electric
current.
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Electroscopes
Electroscopes are fork shaped, hinged metallic leaves placed in a vacuum jar, partially
exposed to the outside environment. When an electroscope is charged positively or
negatively, the two leaves separate, as charge distributes evenly along the leaves
causing repulsion between two like poles. When ultraviolet radiation (or any radiation
above threshold frequency) is shone onto the metallic outside of the electroscope, the
negatively charged one will discharge and collapse, while nothing will happen to the
positively charged one. The reason is that electrons will be liberated from the negatively
charged one, gradually making it neutral, while liberating electrons from the positively
charged one will make it even more positive, keeping the leaves apart.
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Photoelectron spectroscopy
Since the energy of the photoelectrons emitted is exactly the energy of the incident
photon plus the material's work function or binding energy, the work function of a
sample can be determined by bombarding it with a monochromatic X-ray source or UV
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source (typically a Helium discharge lamp), and measuring the kinetic energy
distribution of the electrons emitted.
This must be done in a high vacuum environment, since the electrons would be
scattered by air.
A typical electron energy analyzer is a concentric hemispherical analyser (CHA), which
uses an electric field to divert electrons different amounts depending on their kinetic
energies. For every element and core atomic orbital there will be a different binding
energy. The many electrons created from each will then show up as spikes in the
analyzer, and can be used to determine the elemental composition of the sample. [4]
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Spacecraft
The photoelectric effect will cause spacecraft exposed to sunlight to develop a positive
charge. This can get up to the tens of volts. This can be a major problem, as other parts
of the spacecraft in shadow develop a negative charge (up to several kilovolts) from
nearby plasma, and the imbalance can discharge through delicate electrical components.
The static charge created by the photoelectric effect is self-limiting, though, because a
more highly-charged object gives up its electrons less easily.[5]
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Moon dust
Light from the sun hitting lunar dust causes it to become charged through the
photoelectric effect. The charged dust then repels itself and lifts off the surface of the
moon by electrostatic levitation. This manifests itself almost like an "atmosphere of
dust", visible as a thin haze and blurring of distant features, and visible as a dim glow
after the sun has set. This was first photographed by the lunar surveyor in the 1960s. It
is thought that the smallest particles are repelled up to kilometers high, and that the
particles move in "fountains" as they charge and discharge. [6] [7]
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http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Photoelectric_effect&action=edit&section=17
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