Physics 26

Department of Physics, Stanford University

Spring 2016

Lab 3: The Quantization of Light and Plancks Constant

Name:

TA Name:

Partner Name:

Date:

In this lab you will measure Plancks constant using the Photoelectric Effect and the Compton Effect. Please review
Giancoli Chapter 27.3 and 27.5, lecture notes 6, 7, and the discussion section material on the photoelectric effect
before coming to lab.
Useful constants: c = 3.0 108 m/s; h = 4.1 10 15 eV s, hc = 1.2 10 6 eV m, me= 9.1 10 31 kg;
e=1.16 10 19 Coulombs
In addition, to the pre-lab that you must complete before coming to the lab, this lab has two in-lab activities in it
that you can complete in any order:
1. Photoelectric Effect
2. Compton Effect

Pre-lab: To be completed before coming to lab

Photoelectic Effect Apparatus

In Giancoli (p. 759), you are working with the photoelectric effect apparatus pictured in Figure 1. The battery
(V) creates an electric potential difference between the metal (P) and collector (C). When you shine light on the
metal, a current flows in this circuit through the ammeter (A). By changing the voltage of the battery (V), it is
possible to find the stopping voltage for this frequency of light. A big problem with this setup is that the currents
are very small, so the ammeter has to be very sensitive (aka very expensive).

Figure 1
In this lab, you will use a clever alternative to an expensive ammeter (Figure 2). Recall from Physics 23 that
the voltage across a capacitor with capacitance C and charge Q on each plate is given by the formula V = Q/C.
Consider the circuit in figure 2. Before we shine light on the metal (P), there is no charge on the capacitor plates.
However, if we shine light with more energy (E=hf) than the work function of the metal, electrons will be released
from P and flow towards C. This creates a current that can charge the capacitor. The capacitor will charge (much
like an RC circuit) until its voltage exactly opposes the voltage created across the photocell; this is the stopping
voltage!
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Figure 2: The apparatus you will use is on the left, and an equivalent circuit diagram is on the right. Shining light
on the metal causes electrons to flow from the metal to the collector, which creates a current that can charge the
capacitor. You can measure the voltage across this capacitor.

(a) Assume the frequency of the incident light is f, the work function of the metal is W, and the stopping voltage
for electrons excited by light of frequency f is VS . Write an expression for VS in terms of f, W, and constants.

(b) You will change the wavelength (and therefore frequency) of the incident light and measure VS . As a class,
you will collect this data for 6 different frequencies. How will you use this data to calculate h?

(c) Estimating the numbers involved: In this lab, the steady-state voltages range from 0.5V to 1.5V. If the
capacitance of the capacitor is 150 pF (1pF=1012 F), how much charge is on the capacitor at steady state
when the voltage is 1.5V?

(d) How many electrons have moved from the cathode to the anode?
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Compton Effect

Another experiment validating the idea of treating light as a particle. When light (incident photon) collides with
an electron at rest, the scattered photon has a longer wavelength than the incident photon.

Figure 3
(a) How does the energy of the scattered photon compare with the energy of the incident photon?

(b) Where did the energy go (come from)?

(c) The photon energy for Compton scattering should be on the order of the rest energy of an electron (511 keV).
What wavelength does this correspond to?

Notice that the work function of metals is 3 eV so the photoelectric effect is considered a low-energy effect
while the Compton effect is considered a medium energy effect.
(d) What is the total energy of the system (photon plus electron) before and after the collision?

(e) What is the total momentum of the system before and after the collision?

(f) Look over Giancoli section 27.5 on the Compton Effect and find the equation relating change in wavelength
to the scattering angle.
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In-Lab Activity 1: Photoelectric Effect

In discussion section, you should have seen how light quantization could be used to explain the results of the
photoelectric effect. In lab, you will use the photoelectric effect to calculate Plancks constant, h.
Equipment: Description and Setup
The photoelectric effect experimental setup is housed in a wooden box. Turn off the switch on the outside of the
box and open the lid. Inside the box you will see a bulb this is the mercury lamp that produces the light that you
will shine on the metal. Since mercury has some very strong UV lines that can damage your vision, it is essential
that the wooden box is covered when the lamp is on; and conversely, that the lamp is turned off when the lid is off.
Please follow these precautions.
With the lamp off and the lid removed, you will notice a holder in front of the lamp where you can slide in a filter
from the selection of filters in the box. There are six filters, each with its color and frequency written on it. The
predominant lines of mercury are:
COLOR

WAVELENGTH (nm)

FREQUENCY (1014 Hz)

U.V
Violet
Blue
Blue-Green
Green
Yellow

365.0
404.7
435.8
491.6, 496.0
546.1
577.0, 579.1

8.21
7.41
6.87
6.1
5.49
5.19

Almost next to the lamp is a black box with a hole in it. Inside the black box is a glass bulb, the photocell. The
back of the glass has the metal of interest (the cathode) while the front has a wire-loop anode. Since the anode is
a loop of wire, it does not obstruct the light. Filtered, single-frequency, light from the mercury lamp shines on the
cathode, strips some electrons that move to the anode.
The BNC connector on the outside of the wooden box is connected via a 4 coaxial cable (capacitance 150 pF) to
the electrometer. The electrometer runs on batteries; please turn it off when not in use.
The electrometer: With the lamp off, one filter in front of the lamp, and the lid placed on the wooden box, turn
on the electrometer (on-off switch on face of box).
Push the button that says Zero; the meter should read zero. If it does not, turn the Trim knob until the
meter reads zero.
Connect the coaxial cable to the electrometer input and the photoelectric setup output.
1. Make sure the lid is ON the wooden box then turn on the mercury lamp. It takes a few minutes for the
mercury lamp to warm up and a few more minutes for the voltage to reach steady state. Once the voltage
reaches steady state, record the voltage and the wavelength of the filter that you had in place.
2. Turn off the lamp, remove the filter; replace with another filter,zero the electrometer; repeat step 1.
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Department of Physics, Stanford University

Wavelength(nm)

Frequency
Hz)

(1014

Spring 2016

Steady State Voltage (V)

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Plot your data on the graph below and draw a best-fit line by eye. Use the slope of the line to calculate h from
the data. Ask your TA to show you how to do this if you are not sure.

In-Lab Activity 2: Compton Effect

1. For the Compton Effect portion of the lab, you will use a simulation, a Physlet designed by Christian and
Belloni at Davidson College. If they are not already on, turn on the lab computers, open the folder Davidson
Physlets, then folder Need Quantum, then folder Wave Particles, then file section5 2.html. At the top, right
under the toolbar, will be a message telling you that content was blocked. Click on that message and say,
Allow Blocked Content, then click Yes on the box that follows. This file should open a browser window and
a screen that looks like:
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Go down about a third of the way on the page to get to the screen that looks like the one shown below. This
is what you will be using for the simulated lab.

2. Notice that the wavelength of the incident photon is in tenths of a nm. What part of the EM spectrum does
this correspond to?

3. Play with the simulation select one wavelength between 0.5 and 1 nm. Fire a photon and you should see the
green photon approach towards the electron at rest (red). After the collision, the photon and electron move
in different directions. The simulation gives you the wavelength and angle of the scattered photon. Does the
angle and frequency of the scattered photon stay constant for a given wavelength of the incident photon?

4. Once you are comfortable with the simulation, collect 10 data points.

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Department of Physics, Stanford University

i (nm)

i (nm)

= (f i )
(nm)

Spring 2016

(degrees)

1 cos()

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
5. Decide with your partner what you should plot on the x and y-axis of the graph remember, the goal is to
calculate h. You will use the fact that me=9.1 1031 kg and c=3 108 m/s.

6. Plot your data and use your eye to draw a best-fit straight line (graph paper on next page). This is a line
that has roughly the same number of points above and below it; the distance from the points above the line
to the line is about the same as the distance from the points below the line to the line. Your TA will have
shown you or will show you how to do this with the photoelectric effect data.
7. What is the value of h that you calculated from the Compton effect simulation?

8. How do the two values of h (one from the photoelectric effect experiment and one from the Compton effect
simulation) compare? Discuss some sources of uncertainty or errors.

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Department of Physics, Stanford University

Spring 2016

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