In the Photoelectric effect, Why does increasing the light intensity have no effect on the energy of the electron emitted?

The equation to calculate the energy of an emitted electron is: E = hf - φ, where E is the energy of the electron emitted, is the Planck's constant, f is the frequency of the light and φ is the work function of the metal which is the minimum energy required to emit an electron. Here you can see that nothing is dependant on light intensity because the intensity is essentially the number of photons and does not increase nor decrease the energy of a single photon, therefore has no effect on the energy of an electron emitted. 

If the light has enough energy to emit a photon i.e. has a high enough frequency, then the light intensity will increase the probability of an electron being emitted from the metal.  

PK
Answered by Pankaj K. Physics tutor

20457 Views

See similar Physics A Level tutors

Related Physics A Level answers

All answers ▸

An alpha particle is accelerated with 5MeV of kinetic energy towards the nucleus of a gold atom with atomic number 79. What is the distance of closest approach that is reached by the alpha particle?


If a star with a radius of 600000km has a surface temperature of 6000K, calculate its luminosity


The mercury atoms in a fluorescent tube are excited and then emit photons in the ultraviolet region of the electromagnetic spectrum. Explain (i) how the mercury atoms become excited and (ii) how the excited atoms emit photons.


What does a stress-strain curve for a metal look like and what does each part mean?


We're here to help

contact us iconContact usWhatsapp logoMessage us on Whatsapptelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo

© MyTutorWeb Ltd 2013–2025

Terms & Conditions|Privacy Policy
Cookie Preferences