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jiayingsim123
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Homework Statement
Radiation of wavelength 240nm gives rise to a maximum photoelectric current, I. The intensity of the incident radiation is maintained constant and the wavelength is now reduced.
State and explain the effect of this change on
(i) The maximum kinetic energy of the photoelectrons
(ii) The maximum photoelectric current I.
The Attempt at a Solution
I understand that for (i) the maximum KE will increase as the wavelength is reduced causing the photon energy to be larger and the maximum KE is independent of the intensity. However, I don't get (ii). My initial answer is that the maximum photoelectric current, I remains constant as the intensity if unchanged. However, the answer says that there are fewer photons per unit time, so the maximum current is smaller. Does frequency also affect the number of electrons emitted per unit time (since frequency is the number of cycles per unit time) and hence affect the magnitude of the photoelectric current?
I hope you can clear up my confusion! Thanks in advance! :)