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The wave theory of light was unable to explain something
known as the “photoelectric effect”
A simple example of the photoelectric effect is the
protective beam across the bottom of a remote control garage
door opener.
How does it work?
The puzzling part was:
• Not all light caused a flow of electrons off of the metal.
• If light was below a certain frequency, it had no impact.
• If it was above a certain frequency, there was a flow of electricity.
Scientists could not explain why light had to be a minimum
frequency to cause the photoelectric effect.
Enter a scientist by the name of Albert Einstein
Einstein expanded an idea put forth by another physicist, Max
Planck
Planck had proposed that hot objects do not emit
electromagnetic energy continuously, as would be
expected if it was in the form of waves.
Rather, Planck thought objects emit energy in small, specific
amounts called “quanta”.
• A quantum is the minimum amount of energy that can be gained or lost by an atom
• This was the beginning on “quantum mechanics”
Planck proposed this relationship between energy and frequency:
E = hvE is energy in Joules
h is Planck’s constant
v is frequency
In 1905, Einstein put forth the idea that electromagnetic
radiation has a dual wave-particle nature.
In other words, light could be thought of as a stream of particles
He called these particles “photons”.
• A photon is a particle of EMR having zero mass and carrying a quantum of energy
Einstein explained the photoelectric effect by suggesting that EMR is absorbed by matter
only in whole numbers of photons.
If the frequency is too low, the energy of a photon is not enough to
knock electrons loose.
Einstein was awarded the Nobel prize for physics in 1921 for his paper on the photoelectric effect
Let’s observe the hydrogen emission spectrum
Explaining the hydrogen emission spectrum
First, how it is different from the spectrum seen when looking at
sunlight?
Some terminology
• Ground state-
• The lowest energy state of an atom
• Excited state-
• A higher energy state than the ground state
The specific lines/colors seen from the hydrogen spectrum have
particular wavelengths and frequencies.
Once we determine the frequency, we can use E=h to find the energy given off by the
photons.
What does that indicate about the energy levels in hydrogen?
It suggests that the electron only can possess specific energy states.
Now scientists tried to put a model together that would fit this
observation.
The Bohr model was incomplete
• It only worked for hydrogen (one electron)
• It didn’t explain the chemical behavior of atoms
The Bohr model
• The electron can only circle the nucleus in certain fixed orbits.
• The orbit closest to the nucleus is the lowest energy level
• The further the orbit is from the nucleus, the higher the energy level.
Quiz
What is the photoelectric effect?
T or FAll light shone on a piece of metal will cause electrons to be knocked
off
Energy of a photon is related to:a) wavelengthb) frequencyc) speed
When electrons are in their lowest energy state they are said to be in the …
• Ground state