Question

State Einstein's photoelectric equation and mention the physical significance of each term involved in it.

Answer 1

Einstein's photoelectric equation:

`hv = phi + 1/2 mv_(max)^2`

where h = Planck's constant,

Fundamental constant that relates the energy of a photon to its frequency.

v = Frequency of the electromagnetic radiation,

The energy of an incident photon is given by hv.

hv = Energy of the photon incident on a metal surface,

The energy of an incident photon depends on its frequency.

It is the total energy carried by a photon that interacts with an electron on the metal surface.

Φ = photoelectric work function,

i.e., the minimum energy of light quantum required to liberate an electron from the metal surface, v_max and

`1/2 mv_(max)^2` = The maximum speed and maximum kinetic energy of the photoelectrons at the time of emission

Φ = hv₀

where v₀ is the threshold frequency for the metal.