In: Physics
(a) What potential difference must be applied to stop the fastest photoelectrons emitted by a nickel surface under the action of ultraviolet light of wavelength 200 nm?
( The work function of nickel is 5,01 eV )
(b) The work function of gold is 5.1 eV. What is the longest-wavelength light that can cause photoelectron emission from gold?
a) Energy of the fastest electrons emitted by nickel can be found by Einstein's photoelectric equation
is the work function of nickel. is the wavelength of incident light,
is the Planck's constant and is the speed of light. Hence the fastest photoelectrons have the energy
Here, is the magnitude charge of electron in Coulombs. The potential difference that is needed to stop the fastest electron is given by
b) The longest wavelength of light, i.e. photons with least energy, that can cause photoelectric emission from gold can be found by putting the energy of emitted photons equal to zero in Einstein's photoelectric equation