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Kristine
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how does the photo electric effect relate to determining the charge of an electron?
The photoelectric effect is the phenomenon where electrons are emitted from a material when light of a certain frequency is shone on it.
The photoelectric effect can be used to determine the charge of an electron by measuring the maximum kinetic energy of the emitted electrons and using the equation KEmax = hf - φ where h is Planck's constant, f is the frequency of the light, and φ is the material's work function. The charge of an electron can then be calculated using the equation e = KEmax/V where e is the charge of an electron and V is the voltage applied to the material.
The work function is the minimum amount of energy required to remove an electron from the surface of a material. It is a characteristic property of the material and is typically measured in electron volts (eV).
According to the equation KEmax = hf - φ, the energy of the emitted electrons is directly proportional to the frequency of the light. This means that as the frequency increases, the energy of the electrons also increases.
No, the photoelectric effect cannot be explained by classical physics. According to classical physics, the energy of the emitted electrons should increase with the intensity of the light. However, in experiments, it has been observed that the energy of the electrons only depends on the frequency of the light, which is a characteristic of quantum mechanics.