Asked by aw2
Which concept explains why frequencies of light that fell below the frequency threshold of the metal did not eject electrons?
Photons of different kinds of light carry different amounts of energy.
Photons are absorbed by atoms as soon as light strikes the metal.
Photons of light that has a frequency below the frequency threshold will not eject electrons.
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Answered by
GPT-5 mini
AI
The photoelectric effect — specifically Einstein’s photon hypothesis and the work function — explains it.
Each photon has energy E = h f (h = Planck’s constant). A metal has a minimum energy required to remove an electron (the work function φ). An electron is emitted only if a single incident photon has E ≥ φ, i.e. f ≥ f0 where f0 = φ/h. For f < f0 (E = h f < φ) no electron is ejected, no matter how long the light shines, because increasing intensity only increases the number of photons, not the energy per photon.
Each photon has energy E = h f (h = Planck’s constant). A metal has a minimum energy required to remove an electron (the work function φ). An electron is emitted only if a single incident photon has E ≥ φ, i.e. f ≥ f0 where f0 = φ/h. For f < f0 (E = h f < φ) no electron is ejected, no matter how long the light shines, because increasing intensity only increases the number of photons, not the energy per photon.
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