For Students · Photoelectric Effect
Photoelectric Effect for a particle in a box
Built for students learning it for a class or exam. See the concept move instead of memorizing formulas — and check your homework intuition. Simulate a particle in a box live below — adjust the inputs and watch it respond, right in your browser.
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.
Data Inspector
Photon energy3.31 eV
Max KE1.01 eV
Stopping voltage1.01 V
Emissionyes
Governing equation
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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