Thursday, April 28, 2011

When a piece of metal is illuminated by a monochromatic light of wavelength lambda, then stopping potential is 3Vs. When the same surface is...

The stopping potential refers to the potential difference required to stop an electron emitted from a metal after it is illuminated by the light. This potential difference is equal to the kinetic energy with which electron leaves the metal:


`K = hf - phi` .


This is called photoelectric equation. Here, h is the Plank's constant, f is the frequency of the incident light and `phi` is the work function of the metal. The work function is related to the threshold frequency of the incident light: `phi = hf_0` , where `f_0` is the minimum frequency for which any electrons will be emitted.


The frequency of light can be expressed through its wavelength `lambda` as


`f = c/lambda` , where c is the speed of light.


In the given problem, the stopping potential for the light with wavelength `lambda`


is 3V. The photoelectric equation becomes


`3V =(hc)/lambda - phi`


The stopping potential for the light with wavelength `2lambda ` is V:


`V = (hc)/(2lambda) - phi`


These two equations can be solved together for the work function. Multiplying the second equation by -2 and adding it to the first equation results in


`V = phi`


The work function equals `phi = (hc)/lambda_0=V` , where `lambda_0` is the threshold wavelength. Combining this with second of the photoelectric equations, we get


`(hc)/lambda_0 = (hc)/(2lambda) - (hc)/lambda_0`


From here,


`(2hc)/lambda_0 = (hc)/(2lambda)` . Taking reciprocal in both sides results in



`lambda_0/2 = 2lambda`


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and `lambda_0 = 4lambda` .


The threshold wavelength for photoelectric emission is choice 2, `4lambda` .

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