hi guys this was a homework question for my AS quantum physics module and im pretty stuck and need some help and cant seem to find too much on the internet
thanks
thanks
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As I'm sure you're aware, the photoelectric effect is a phenomenon where light is said to behave as a particle (rather than a wave), which results in the emission of electrons from matter (metals is the main focus for AS though, I believe?)
The equation to then calculate the kinetic energy of said electron being:
KE = hf - φ
where φ=the work function of a metal
h = Plank's constant
f =frequency of the incident photon
With this, you can then go on to calculate the velocity of the excited electron and such other things.
The photoelectric effect offers evidence for the particular nature of light (a form of electromagnetic radiation) in the fact that, when the incident photon collides with the surface of matter, the transfer and absorption of photon energy, as well as the liberation of an electron happens instantaneously.
If light were behaving as a wave in this situation, this would NOT be able to happen so quickly, due to the fact that the energy would not all be delivered at once.
If you think of a photon as a "packet" of light or energy, once that packet collides with an atom and bursts, all of the contents are released at once. Whereas, with a wave, an entire wave (or a certain amount of one) would need to be absorbed before the necessary energy was acquired.
The equation to then calculate the kinetic energy of said electron being:
KE = hf - φ
where φ=the work function of a metal
h = Plank's constant
f =frequency of the incident photon
With this, you can then go on to calculate the velocity of the excited electron and such other things.
The photoelectric effect offers evidence for the particular nature of light (a form of electromagnetic radiation) in the fact that, when the incident photon collides with the surface of matter, the transfer and absorption of photon energy, as well as the liberation of an electron happens instantaneously.
If light were behaving as a wave in this situation, this would NOT be able to happen so quickly, due to the fact that the energy would not all be delivered at once.
If you think of a photon as a "packet" of light or energy, once that packet collides with an atom and bursts, all of the contents are released at once. Whereas, with a wave, an entire wave (or a certain amount of one) would need to be absorbed before the necessary energy was acquired.