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Nuclear Physics-104 Photoelectric Effect

The photoelectric effect occurs when electrons are ejected from matter after exposure to electromagnetic radiation like light. For different materials, different frequencies of light are needed to cause ejection - visible light for alkali metals and ultraviolet light for other metals. Einstein's model explained that light consists of particle-like photons and the energy of each photon is equal to its frequency multiplied by Planck's constant. If a photon's energy exceeds the material's work function, it can eject an electron.

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63 views11 pages

Nuclear Physics-104 Photoelectric Effect

The photoelectric effect occurs when electrons are ejected from matter after exposure to electromagnetic radiation like light. For different materials, different frequencies of light are needed to cause ejection - visible light for alkali metals and ultraviolet light for other metals. Einstein's model explained that light consists of particle-like photons and the energy of each photon is equal to its frequency multiplied by Planck's constant. If a photon's energy exceeds the material's work function, it can eject an electron.

Uploaded by

shatha
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
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Nuclear Physics-104

Photoelectric effect

The photoelectric effect occurs when matter emits electrons


upon exposure to electromagnetic radiation, such as photons
of light. Here's a closer look at what the photoelectric effect
is and how it works.

When a surface is exposed to sufficiently energetic


electromagnetic energy, light will be absorbed and electrons
will be emitted. The threshold frequency is different for
different materials. It is visible light for alkali metals, near-
ultraviolet light for other metals, and extreme-ultraviolet
radiation for nonmetals. The photoelectric effect occurs with
photons having energies from a few electron volts to over 1
MeV. At the high photon energies comparable to the
electron rest energy of 511 keV, Compton scattering may
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occur pair production may take place at energies over 1.022
MeV.

Einstein proposed that light consisted of quanta, which we


call photons. He suggested that the energy in each quantum
of light was equal to the frequency multiplied by a constant
(Planck's constant) and that a photon with a frequency over a
certain threshold would have sufficient energy to eject a
single electron, producing the photoelectric effect. It turns
out that light does not need to be quantized in order to
explain the photoelectric effect, but some textbooks persist
in saying that the photoelectric effect demonstrates the
particle nature of light.

Einstein's Equations for the Photoelectric Effect

Einstein's interpretation of the photoelectric effect results in


equations which are valid for visible and ultraviolet light:

energy of photon = energy needed to remove an electron +


kinetic energy of the emitted electron

hν = W + E
2
where h is Planck's constant, ν is the frequency of the
incident photon
W is the work function, which is the minimum energy
required to remove an electron from the surface of a given
metal: hν0
E is the maximum kinetic energy of ejected electrons: 1/2
mv2
ν0 is the threshold frequency for the photoelectric effect
m is the rest mass of the ejected electron
v is the speed of the ejected electron

No electron will be emitted if the incident photon's energy is


less than the work function.

Applying Einstein's special theory of relativity, the relation


between energy (E) and momentum (p) of a particle is

E = [(pc)2 + (mc2)2](1/2)

where m is the rest mass of the particle and c is the velocity


of light in a vacuum.

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 The rate at which photoelectrons are ejected is directly
proportional to the intensity of the incident light, for a
given frequency of incident radiation and metal.
 The time between the incidence and emission of a
photoelectron is very small, less than 10–9 second.

 For a given metal, there is a minimum frequency of


incident radiation below which the photoelectic effect
will not occur so no photoelectrons can be emitted
(threshold frequency).

 Above the threshold frequency, the maximum kinetic


energy of the emitted photoelectron depends on the
frequency of the incident radiation but is independent of
its intensity.

 If the incident light is linearly polarized then the


directional distribution of emitted electrons will peak in
the direction of polarization (the direction of the electric
field).

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Atomic spectra

What is atomic spectra? Explain


The spectrum of frequencies of electromagnetic radiation
emitted or absorbed during transitions of electrons between
energy levels within an atom. Each element has a
characteristic spectrum by which it can be recognized.
The spectrum of radiations due to transitions between
energy levels in an atom; either absorption or emission is
called atomic spectra. It is of many types which are as
follows:

When an atom absorb energy, it get excited from ground


state to excited state, the energy absorbed by the atom form
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absorption spectra while energy released by the atom on
returning to ground state form emission

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Bohr's atomic model
In 1913 Bohr proposed his quantized shell model of the
atom to explain how electrons can have stable orbits around
the nucleus. The motion of the electrons in the Rutherford
model was unstable because, according to classical
mechanics and electromagnetic theory, any charged particle
moving on a curved path emits electromagnetic radiation;
thus, the electrons would lose energy and spiral into the
nucleus. To remedy the stability problem, Bohr modified the
Rutherford model by requiring that the electrons move in
orbits of fixed size and energy. The energy of an electron
depends on the size of the orbit and is lower for smaller
orbits. Radiation can occur only when the electron jumps
from one orbit to another. The atom will be completely
stable in the state with the smallest orbit, since there is no
orbit of lower energy into which the electron can jump.

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Radiation activity
The strength of a radioactive source is called its activity,
which is defined as the rate at which the isotope decays.
Specifically, it is the number of atoms that decay and emit
radiation in one second. Radioactivity may be thought of as
the volume of radiation produced in a given amount of time.
It is similar to the current control on a X-ray generator. The
International System (SI) unit for activity is the becquerel
(Bq), which is that quantity of radioactive material in which
one atom transforms per second. The becquerel is a small
unit. In practical situations, radioactivity is often quantified
in kilobecqerels (kBq) or megabecquerels (MBq). The curie
(Ci) is also commonly used as the unit for activity of a
particular source material. The curie is a quantity of
radioactive material in which 3.7 x 10 10 atoms disintegrate
per second. This is approximately the amount of
radioactivity emitted by one gram (1 g) of Radium 226. One
curie equals approximately 37,037 MBq.  New sources of
cobalt will have an activity of 20 to over 100 curies, and
new sources of iridium will have an activity of similar
amounts.

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Radioactive Decay and Half-Life

Radioactive decay, also known as nuclear decay or


radioactivity, is the process by which a nucleus of an
unstable atom loses energy by emitting particles of ionizing
radiation. A material that spontaneously emits this kind of
radiation—which includes the emission of energetic alpha
particles, beta particles, and gamma rays—is considered
radioactive.

The half-life (t1/2 ), is the time taken for the activity of a given
amount of a radioactive substance to decay to half of its
initial value.

Where λ is The decay constant— τ : is the mean life time—A, is


the number of decays per unit time of a radioactive sample
(Total activity)- N, is the total number of particles in the
sample (Number of particles).
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The SI unit of radioactive activity is the becquerel (Bq),
Another unit of radioactivity is the curie, Ci, which was
originally defined as the amount of radium emanation
(radon-222) in equilibrium with one gram of pure radium,
isotope Ra-226. 1 curie (Ci) = 3.7×1010 Bq

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