Light knocks electrons out of metal — but only if its frequency is high enough, no matter the brightness. The clue that light comes in quantized photons.
Photoelectric EffectLive
Einstein's photon
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Light ejects electrons from a metal only if each photon carries enough energy — no matter how bright a below-threshold beam is. Einstein explained it with KEmax = hf − φ: energy comes in photon packets of hf, and the work function φ is the escape cost. Below the threshold frequency, nothing happens. This won him the Nobel Prize.
Reading this result: Each photon carries 3.31 eV, above the 2.3 eV work function, so electrons escape with up to 1.01 eV — a brighter beam adds more electrons, not more energy per electron.
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How it works
Einstein explained the photoelectric effect with KEmax = hf − φ: each photon delivers energy hf, and an electron escapes only if that exceeds the work function φ. Below a threshold frequency nothing happens; above it, the ejected electrons' maximum kinetic energy rises linearly with frequency, independent of intensity. The result launched quantum physics.
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