Photoelectric Effect
Most recent answer: 03/29/2018
Q:
What is the photoelectric effect? How does it work? The photoelectric effect is basically that if a photon has enough energy, it can knock an electron out of a material. How exactly does this work? What happens with a radiated electron? What does it all mean?
- Anonymous (age 10)
Rhode Island
- Anonymous (age 10)
Rhode Island
A:
Electrons are sort of stuck in metals, meaning that it takes some energy to pull one out. Light (photons) can supply that energy. What makes the photoelectric effect interesting is that for the most part the process happens one photon at a time. That means that if each photon has too little energy to free an electron from the metal, the electrons will stay stuck. Even if quite a bit of enrgy falls on the metal via lots of low-energy photons,, the energy will spread out over the electrons and not supply enough to any one electron to knock it loose.
Mike W.
(published on 03/29/2018)