- #1
maxbur
- 8
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OK, so i have a question about the nature of light, in the context of the photoelectric effect.
So when photons are incident on a metal, given that they have a high enough frequency they can cause electrons to be emitted from the metal. Now i know that intensity of light is to do with the amplitude, and energy is to do with the frequency (E=fh).
Apparantly, when the frequency (thus energy) of the incident light is increased, and intensity is kept constant, the current measured in the circuit connected to the photoelectric set up decreases. Why is this?
The only thing i can think of is that by increasing the energy of the photons, if the intensity is kept constant, the number of photons would have to decrease (which explains the lower current), but again, I don't know why this is?
Thanks for any help, the internet is dreadful for finding such answers :)
So when photons are incident on a metal, given that they have a high enough frequency they can cause electrons to be emitted from the metal. Now i know that intensity of light is to do with the amplitude, and energy is to do with the frequency (E=fh).
Apparantly, when the frequency (thus energy) of the incident light is increased, and intensity is kept constant, the current measured in the circuit connected to the photoelectric set up decreases. Why is this?
The only thing i can think of is that by increasing the energy of the photons, if the intensity is kept constant, the number of photons would have to decrease (which explains the lower current), but again, I don't know why this is?
Thanks for any help, the internet is dreadful for finding such answers :)