Photoelectric Effect: Is There a Problem?

[hongkongrubbish]

My physics teacher told me that in photoelectric effect, only one photon can be absorbed by one electron. Not more than one photon can be absorbed during the emission of electron.

But a beam of light is a stream of photons! The chance for two or more photons colliding with the same electron should be very high! Is there anything wrong with the theory?

 

[Kurdt]

Multiphoton absorption can occur. The incident light has to be quite intense however. There's nothing wrong with Einstein's theory as the experiments of the time could only use light of a certain intensity. The theory is merely a special case of something more general.

 

[astrokreng]

The photoelectric effect is a well-studied phenomenon in physics and has been extensively researched and tested. It is true that in the photoelectric effect, only one photon can be absorbed by one electron. This is because the energy of a photon is directly proportional to its frequency, and for a photon to be able to eject an electron from a metal surface, it must have enough energy to overcome the binding energy of the electron.

While it may seem intuitive that a beam of light, which is made up of multiple photons, would increase the chances of multiple photons colliding with the same electron, this is not the case. The probability of multiple photons interacting with the same electron is actually very low, as the photons are spread out over a large area and have different trajectories. Moreover, even if multiple photons were to interact with the same electron, they would not have enough combined energy to eject the electron. This is because the energy of each photon is discrete and cannot be combined with other photons.

The photoelectric effect is a well-established theory and has been verified through numerous experiments. Therefore, there is no problem with the theory. However, it is important to note that the photoelectric effect is just one aspect of the larger field of quantum mechanics, and there may be other phenomena where multiple photon interactions play a role. Overall, the photoelectric effect remains a fundamental and accurate explanation for the behavior of electrons in response to light.