Read · Light quanta: from entropy to an energy scale · Results

§8 · photoelectric energy and counts

Einstein argues that light, when it is emitted or absorbed, behaves as if its energy came in separate quanta, and calls the idea a heuristic point of view. Follow all nine sections, from the trouble with classical radiation to the photoelectric effect.

The paper's results

Pages 145, 146

The energy of the electrons that light sets free

If a light quantum gives its whole energy to one electron and the electron must do the work PP to leave the body, the fastest electrons leave with the kinetic energy RNβν−P\frac{R}{N}\beta\nu - P, so the potential Π\Pi that just stops them should be a straight line in the frequency with a slope that does not depend on the substance; for ultraviolet light at the edge of the solar spectrum the paper estimates about 4.3 volts, of the order of Lenard's results.

As printed

Die einfachste Vorstellung ist die, daß ein Lichtquant seine ganze Energie an ein einziges Elektron abgibt; wir wollen annehmen, daß dies vorkomme. Es soll jedoch nicht ausgeschlossen sein, daß Elektronen die Energie von Lichtquanten nur teilweise aufnehmen. Ein im Innern des Körpers mit kinetischer Energie versehenes Elektron wird, wenn es die Oberfläche erreicht hat, einen Teil seiner kinetischen Energie eingebüßt haben. Außerdem wird anzunehmen sein, daß jedes Elektron beim Verlassen des Körpers eine (für den Körper charakteristische) Arbeit PP zu leisten hat, wenn es den Körper verläßt. Mit der größten Normalgeschwindigkeit werden die unmittelbar an der Oberfläche normal zu dieser erregten Elektronen den Körper verlassen. Die kinetische Energie solcher Elektronen ist RNβν−P.\frac{R}{N} \beta \nu - P .Gas constantAvogadro's numberSpectral constant BFrequency of the lightEscape workExplain this equation

Ist der Körper zum positiven Potential Π\Pi geladen und von Leitern vom Potential Null umgeben und ist Π\Pi eben imstande, einen Elektrizitätsverlust des Körpers zu verhindern, so muß sein: Πε=RNβν−P,\Pi \varepsilon = \frac{R}{N} \beta \nu - P ,Stopping potentialCharge of one electronGas constantAvogadro's numberSpectral constant BFrequency of the lightEscape workExplain this equation wobei ε\varepsilon die elektrische Masse des Elektrons bedeutet, oder ΠE=Rβν−P′,\Pi E = R \beta \nu - P' ,Stopping potentialGram-equivalent chargeGas constantSpectral constant BFrequency of the lightWork function per gram-equivalentExplain this equation wobei EE die Ladung eines Grammäquivalentes eines einwertigen Ions und P′P' das Potential dieser Menge negativer Elektrizität in bezug auf den Körper bedeutet.1)

Um zunächst zu sehen, ob die abgeleitete Beziehung der Größenordnung nach mit der Erfahrung übereinstimmt, setzen wir P′=0P' = 0, ν=1,03⋅1015\nu = 1{,}03 \cdot 10^{15} (entsprechend der Grenze des Sonnenspektrums nach dem Ultraviolett hin) und β=4,866⋅10−11\beta = 4{,}866 \cdot 10^{-11}. Wir erhalten Π⋅107=4,3\Pi \cdot 10^7 = 4{,}3 Volt, welches Resultat der Größenordnung nach mit den Resultaten von Hrn. Lenard übereinstimmt.2)

Ist die abgeleitete Formel richtig, so muß Π\Pi, als Funktion der Frequenz des erregenden Lichtes in kartesischen Koordinaten dargestellt, eine Gerade sein, deren Neigung von der Natur der untersuchten Substanz unabhängig ist.

Text on pages 145–146 of the German source, § 8, paragraph 2 · Text on page 146 of the German source, § 8, paragraph 3 · Text on page 146 of the German source, § 8, paragraph 5 · Text on page 146 of the German source, § 8, paragraph 6

In modern notation

Kmax=h ν−ΦK_{\mathrm{max}} = h\,\nu - \Phi
e Vs=Kmax=h ν−Φe\,V_{\mathrm{s}} = K_{\mathrm{max}} = h\,\nu - \Phi

  • Premise: That a light quantum gives its whole energy to a single electron is an assumption: the paper calls it the simplest picture, assumes that it occurs, and does not exclude that electrons take up only part of a quantum's energy.
  • A comparison, not a premise: The 4.3 volts is compared with Lenard's results only in order of magnitude, with the work P′P' set to zero. It checks the size of the prediction, not the relation.
  • Conditional: The straight line, with a slope independent of the substance, is what must hold if the derived formula is right; the paper reports no such measurement.

Decoder

PP
The work, characteristic of the body, that each electron must do to leave it.
Π\Pi
The positive potential to which the body is charged when it just prevents a loss of electricity: in later language, the stopping potential.
ε\varepsilon
The charge of the electron, which the paper calls its electric mass.
EE and P′P'
The charge of one gram-equivalent of a monovalent ion, and the potential of that amount of negative electricity with respect to the body: the same relation written per gram-equivalent.
4,3 Volt
The paper's order-of-magnitude check, with P′=0P' = 0, ν=1,03⋅1015\nu = 1{,}03 \cdot 10^{15} (the edge of the solar spectrum toward the ultraviolet) and β=4,866⋅10−11\beta = 4{,}866 \cdot 10^{-11}.

Try it

Where this stops: In the laboratory the threshold and the straight line follow from the model’s assumptions; they are not experimental proof. The work function used in a hypothetical example is not a sourced value for a named metal. Real collection and emission rates require additional material and apparatus assumptions. Read the argument

Where this stops: No stopping endpoint for emitted electrons is supplied when emission is not allowed. A negative energy deficit and a signed collector voltage are different quantities. The footnote gives no size for the work of freeing an electron from a molecule; the passage's figures for it are hypothetical. Read the argument

Common wrong turns

Argument
A consequence of the quantum picture, with a stated assumption
Model
For electrons that take a quantum's whole energy and leave from the surface
Evidence
A prediction, with an order-of-magnitude comparison
History
Introduced in this paper

§8 · photoelectric energy and counts

More electrons is not more energy per electron

In the one-quantum model, frequency sets the maximum electron energy after paying the escape cost. Increasing power at fixed frequency can increase the number emitted without increasing that maximum.

Einstein's own limits on the photoelectric laws

Einstein qualifies his photoelectric laws the way he qualified Stokes's rule: they may fail when so many light quanta act at once that one electron gathers energy from several, or when the light is not like black radiation within the range of Wien's law.

A stopping voltage is a magnitude with a sign convention

The ideal stopping-potential magnitude is Kmax divided by the positive elementary-charge magnitude. Partial transfer or internal losses produce an inequality rather than a larger endpoint energy.