Photoelectric Effect Demo


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 Code Number :   7A10.30 

Disclaimer:

Reprinted by permission of Dick Berg, University of Maryland, for use on this website.

The demonstrations contained and referenced herein are listed for the purposes of cataloging and describing physics demonstrations which should be conducted only under the direction of a trained instructional support professional or physicist. These demonstrations are not presented for the purpose of being conducted by persons unconnected to this Facility and/or persons not consulting with or being supervised by the recognized instructional support professional or physicist and his/her staff. The University is responsible only for those demonstrations carried out using its own equipment using established safety and scheduling policies, and bears no responsibility for those choosing to use this source material for their own purposes. All demonstrations described and contained herein are public domain, and can also be found in reference materials in libraries, bookstores, and electronic sources.

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Condition :   Good  
Principle :   Photoelectric Effect   
Area of Study :  Modern Physics  
Equipment :   Flashlight, Keithley electrometer, Photoelectric cell, Video camera with power supply, Filters (assorted), Variac, Light Bulb (40 Watt).

Procedure :   Set the demonstration up as shown.  The filters will show at which spectral wavelengths the photocell works best. The photocell shown and the others that are available do not work exactly like the classical cells described in most of the text books because they are made of other alloys than those in the texts. Therefore the filters used for maximum effect are also in a different region of the spectrum and also have a broader bandwidth.

Another simple way to show that the shorter wavelengths contain most of the energy is to use different color LED's with some fluorescent material.  The material will not be activated with the red, orange, yellow, and green lights.  The blue and white lights will give some activation, but are nothing compared to the activation provided by the ultraviolet light.   

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   Web Sites
Quantum Phenomena Simulations                  http://phet.colorado.edu/web-pages/simulations-base.html   

Less Sophisticated Applet                                                http://www.ifae.es/xec/phot2.html

Historical Background  http://galileo.phys.virginia.edu/classes/252/photoelectric_effect.html


   References

Adolf Cortel, "Tweaking 'Simple Photoelectric Effect' Demo", TPT, Vol. 44, # 7, Oct. 2006, p. 406.

Adolf Cortel, "Simple Photoelectric Effect", TPT, Vol. 44, # 5, May 2006, p. 310.

Adolf Cortel,  "Demonstrating the Relationship Between the Energy and Frequency of Light,"  TPT, Vol. 38, # 3, p. 152, March 2000.

Dr. Hanna Goldring, "Correction Corrected", TPT, Vol. 17, # 7, Oct. 1979, p. 416.

 

Yaakov Kraftmakher, "Photoelectric Effect Experiment with Computer Control and Data Acquisition", AJP, Vol. 74, # 10, Oct. 2006, p. 941.

 

Jearl Walker,  "Simple and Vivid Demonstrations of Advanced Concepts in Physics,"  The Amateur Scientist,  (January, 1983).

 

"The Photoelectric Effect", Selective Experiments in Physics, CENCO, 1962.

 

 

Mail Questions and Comments to:  Dale Stille