PHYSICS INVESTIGATORY PROJECT

TOPIC:- Photo Electric Effect

Session- 2024-2025

SUBMITTED BY : Abhay raj rathore

SUBJECT : PHYSICS
CLASS : XII
ROLL NO :

UNDER THE GUIDENCE OF :

 CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that Abhay raj rathore
of class XII has completed the project work in
PHYSICS in the year 2022-2023 on “
PHOTOELECTRIC EFFECT” under the
guidance of MRS. Rishika dixit as prescribed
by CBSE course.

Internal Examiner Principal’s Signature

School Stamp

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I,Abhay raj rathore of class XII would
like to express our sincere
gratitude to our physics teacher
MRS. Rishika mam, for his vital
support, guidance and
encouragement without which
this project would not have come
forth. We would also like to
express our gratitude to our
school Miss hill hr sec school for
letting us use the school laboratory.

INDEX
SL PAGE
DESCRIPTION
NO NO
1 HISTORY 05

2 WHAT IS PHOTON.? 07

3 PHOTOELECTRIC EFFECT 08

EXPRIMENTAL SET-UP TO STUDY PHOTOELECTRIC

4 10
EFFECT

EFFECT OF INTENSITY, FREQUENCY,POTENTIAL ON

5 11
P.E. CURRENT

6 LAWS OF PHOTOELECTRIC EMISSION 15

7 EINSTEIN’S PHOTOELECTRIC EQUATION 16

VERIFICATION OF LAWS OF PHOTOELECTRIC EFFECT

8 18
BASED ON EINSTEIN’S PHOTOELECTRIC EQUATION

9 APPLICATION OF PHOTOELECTRIC EFFECT 19

History of Photoelectric
Effect:
Before Albert Einstein explained the matter, several scientists
made similar observations but were unable to clarify the concept.
In the 1800s, James Clark Maxwell and Hendrik Lorentz of
Scottish and Dutch origin resolved that light behaves like a wave.
The theory was proven when light waves demonstrated
interference, scattering, and diffraction. German physicist Heinrich
Rudolf Hertz, in 1887, discovered the photoelectric effect.
Regarding the theory of radio waves, Heinrich’s observation
claimed that sparking takes place when two metal electrodes are
shone with ultraviolet light, there is a voltage change because of
the light.

In 1899, JJ Thompson discovered that if ultraviolet light is being

hit on a metal surface, then it causes electron ejection. Another
scientist Philipp Lenard, in 1902, clarified the connection between
electricity and light, which further proved the theory of the
photoelectric effect. There are further studies conducted on the
subject that strengthened the connection between matter which
can’t be explained by physics and light. This relation described
light as an electromagnetic wave. Einstein conveyed that light is
made up of small packets, which were initially called quanta but
later named photons.

Theoretical studies were done by Arthur Compton in 1922 further

proved that X-rays could be treated as photons. He earned the
Nobel Prize in 1927 for the same. In 1931, Ralph Howard Fowler
did theoretical studies to link photoelectric currents with metal
temperatures.
 Photon
A packet or bundle of energy is called a photon.
𝒉𝒄
Energy of a photon is E = hν =
𝛌
where h is the Planck’s constant, ν is the frequency of the
radiation or photon, c is the speed of light (e.m. wave) and λ is
the wavelength.

Properties of photons:

i) A photon travels at a speed of light c in vacuum. (i.e. 3 x 10-8 m/s)

ii) It has zero rest mass. i.e. the photon can not exist at rest.

𝑬 𝒉
iii) The kinetic mass of a photon is, m = = 𝑪 𝐜𝛌

𝑬 𝒉
iv) The momentum of a photon is, p = =
𝒄 𝛌
v) Photons travel in a straight line.

vi) Energy of a photon depends upon frequency of the photon; so the

energy of the photon does not change when photon travels from
one medium to another.

vii) Wavelength of the photon changes in different media; so,

velocity of a photon is different in different media.

viii) Photons are electrically neutral.

ix) Photons may show diffraction under given conditions.

x) Photons are not deviated by magnetic and electric fields.

Photoelectric Effect:
 The phenomenon of emission of electrons from mainly
metal surfaces exposed to light energy (X – rays, γ –
rays, UV rays, Visible light and even Infra Red rays) of
suitable frequency is known as photoelectric effect.

 The electrons emitted by this effect are called

photoelectrons.

 The current constituted by photoelectrons is known

as photoelectric current.

Note: Non metals also show photoelectric effect.

Liquids and gases also show this effect but to limited
extent.
 Characteristics Of Photoelectric Effect

• The threshold frequency varies with material, it is different for

different materials.
• The photoelectric current is directly proportional to the light
intensity.
• The kinetic energy of the photoelectrons is directly proportional
to the light frequency.
• The stopping potential is directly proportional to the frequency
and the process is instantaneous.

Factors affecting Photoelectric Effect

1. The intensity of incident radiation.
2. A potential difference between metal plate and collector.
3. Frequency of incident radiation.
 Conditions for the Photoelectric Effect
The minimum condition required for the emission of electrons from
the outermost shell of an atom is that the frequency of incident rays
should be very high. This will provide energy to the electron to leave its
outermost shell.

Importance of the Photoelectric Effect

The study of the photoelectric effect has led to expanding our
understanding of the quantum nature of light and electrons. It has
further influenced the formation of the concept of wave-particle
duality. The photoelectric effect is also widely used to investigate
electron energy levels in the matter

Experimental Set-up to study

Photoelectric Effect:
Glass transmits only visible and infra-red lights
but not UV light.

Quartz transmits UV light.

When light of suitable frequency falls on the
metallic cathode, photoelectrons are emitted.
These photoelectrons are attracted towards the
+ve anode and hence photoelectric current is
constituted.

Effect of (Intensity) of Incident Light on

Photoelectric Current:
For a fixed frequency, the photoelectric current
increases linearly with increase in intensity of
 incident light.

Effect of (Potential) on Photoelectric

Current:
 For a fixed frequency and intensity of incident light,
the photoelectric current increases with increase in
+ve potential applied to the anode.

 When all the photoelectrons reach the plate A, current

becomes maximum and is known as saturation
current.

 When the potential is decreased, the current

decreases but does not become zero at zero potential.
  This shows that even in the absence of accelerating
potential, a few photoelectrons manage to reach the
plate on their own due to their K.E.

 When –ve potential is applied to the plate A w.r.t. C,

photoelectric current becomes zero at a particular
value of –ve potential called stopping potential or
cutoff potential.

 Intensity of incident light does not affect the stopping

potential.

Effect of Frequency of Incident Light on

Photoelectric Current:
  For a fixed intensity of incident light, the photoelectric
current does not depend on the frequency of the
incident light. Because, the photoelectric current
simply depends on the number of photoelectrons
emitted and in turn on the number of photons incident
and not on the energy of photons.

Effect of Frequency of Incident Light on

Stopping Potential:
 For a fixed intensity of incident light, the photoelectric
current increases and is saturated with increase in +ve
potential applied to the anode.

 However, the saturation current is same for different

frequencies of the incident lights.

 When potential is decreased and taken below zero,

photoelectric current decreases to zero but at different
stopping potentials for different frequencies.

(Higher the frequency, higher the stopping potential. i.e. VS α ν)

 Threshold Frequency:
 The graph between stopping potential and
frequency does not pass through the origin. It
shows that there is a minimum value of
frequency called threshold frequency below
which photoelectric emission is not possible
however high the intensity of incident light may
be. It depends on the nature of the metal emitting
photoelectrons.
Laws of Photoelectric Emission:
i) For a given substance, there is a minimum value of
frequency of incident light called threshold frequency
below which no photoelectric emission is possible,
howsoever, the intensity of incident light may be.

ii) The number of photoelectrons emitted per second (i.e.

photoelectric current) is directly proportional to the
intensity of incident light provided the frequency is
above the threshold frequency.

iii) The maximum kinetic energy of the photoelectrons is

directly proportional to the frequency provided the
frequency is above the threshold frequency.

iv) The maximum kinetic energy of the photoelectrons is

independent of the intensity of the incident light.

v) The process of photoelectric emission is

instantaneous. i.e. as soon as the photon of suitable
frequency falls on the substance, it emits
photoelectrons.

vi) The photoelectric emission is one-to-one. i.e. for every

photon of suitable frequency one electron is emitted.
Einstein’s Photoelectric Equation:
When a photon of energy hν falls on a metal surface,
the energy of the photon is absorbed by the electron
and is used in two ways:
 A part of energy is used to overcome the surface
barrier and come out of the metal surface. This part of
the energy is called ‘work function’ (Ф = hν0).

 The remaining part of the energy is used in giving a

velocity ‘v’ to the emitted photoelectron. This is equal
to the maximum kinetic energy of the photoelectrons
( ½ mv2 max ) where ‘m’ is mass of the photoelectron.

According to law of conservation of energy,

hν = Ф + ½ mv2max

= hν0 + ½ mv2max

½ mv2 max = h ( ν - ν0 )
 Relationship between the Frequency of the
Incident Photon and the Kinetic Energy of the
Emitted Photoelectron :
Therefore, the relationship between the energy of the photon and
the kinetic energy of the emitted photoelectron can be written as
follows.

Ephoton = Φ + Eelectron
⇒ h𝜈 = h𝜈th + ½mev2
Where,
• Ephoton denotes the energy of the incident photon, which is equal to h𝜈.
• Φ denotes the threshold energy of the metal surface, which is equal
to h𝜈th.
• Eelectron denotes the kinetic energy of the photoelectron, which is
equal to ½mev2 (me = mass of electron = 9.1*10-31 kg).

 If the energy of the photon is less than the threshold energy, there
will be no emission of photoelectrons (since the attractive forces
between the nuclei and the electrons cannot be overcome). Thus, the
photoelectric effect will not occur if 𝜈 < 𝜈th. If the frequency of the photon
is exactly equal to the threshold frequency (𝜈 = 𝜈th), there will be an
emission of photoelectrons, but their kinetic energy will be equal to zero.
An illustration detailing the effect of the frequency of the incident light on
the kinetic energy of the photoelectron is provided below.


Verification of Laws of Photoelectric Emission

based on Einstein’s Photoelectric Equation:

½ mv2 max = h ( ν - ν0 )

i) If ν < ν0, then ½ mv2 max is negative, which is not

possible. Therefore, for photoelectric emission to
take place ν > ν0.

ii) Since one photon emits one electron, so the

number photoelectrons emitted per second is
directly proportional to the intensity of incident
light.

iii) It is clear that ½ mv2 max α ν as h and ν0 are

constant. This shows that K.E. of the
photoelectrons is directly proportional to the
frequency of the incident light.
 iv) Photoelectric emission is due to collision
between a photon and an electron. As such there
can not be any significant time lag between the
incidence of photon and emission of
photoelectron. i.e. the process is instantaneous.
It is found that delay is only 10-8 seconds.

Application of Photoelectric
Effect:
1. Automatic fire alarm
2. Automatic burglar alarm
3. Scanners in Television transmission
4. Reproduction of sound in cinema film
5. In paper industry to measure the thickness of paper
6. To locate flaws or holes in the finished goods
7. In astronomy
8. To determine opacity of solids and liquids
9. Automatic switching of street lights
10.To control the temperature of furnace
11.Photometry
12.Beauty meter – To measure the fair complexion of skin

13.Light meters used in cinema industry to check the light

14.Photoelectric sorting

15.Photo counting
16.Meteorology
THANK
YOU