Knocking Electrons With Light-The Photoelectric Effect

Theory

During his experiments on electromagnetic radiation (to demonstrate light consists of e-m waves), Hertz noticed a spark between the two metallic balls when a high frequency radiation incident on it. This is called photoelectric effect. Photoelectric effect is the emission of electrons when electromagnetic radiations having sufficient frequency incident on certain metal surfaces. We call the emitted electrons as photoelectrons and the current they constitute as photocurrent. The phenomenon was first observed by Heinrich Hertz in 1880 and explained by Albert Einstein in 1905 using Max Planck’s quantum theory of light. As the first experiment which demonstrated the quantum theory of energy levels, photoelectric effect experiment is of great historical importance.

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