Photoelectric Effect

Tahira Kouser Chowdhary

Abstract: The photoelectric effect occurs when you shine light on a metal piece and electrons are ejected from the metal. The electrons so emitted are called photoelectrons and the current flowing due to these photoelectrons is called photoelectric current or photocurrent. This behaviour is more understood able by assuming that the incident light consists of photons, each photon carrying a definite amount of energy. one of the electron s in an atom absorbs the photon energy and is ejected out of the atom. The energy of the photon is equal to the sum of the energy needed to eject out the electron and the kinetic energy gained by that electron. The value OF planck?s constant h is determined from the observation of the photoemission of electrons from a metal surface.

Keywords: Photoelectric, light, photocurrent, photon