Question

Lithium was one of the metals studied by the American physicist Robert Millikan in his research on the photoelectric effect. When illuminated with blue light of frequency 6.64 x 10" Hz, the photoelectrons ejected from a lithium surface have a maximum kinetic energy of 0.332 eV. What is the threshold frequency for lithium? For this problem, let the value of Planck's constant, h, be 6.63 x 10J's

Answer 1

f = 7.9487 10¹³ Hz

Step-by-step explanation:

The photoelectric effect was correctly explained by Einstein assuming that the radiation is composed of photons, which behave like particles.

hf = K + Ф

It indicates the frequency and the kinetic energy, let's look for the work function

Ф = hf - K

let's reduce the magnitudes to the SI system

K = 0.332 eV (1.6 10⁻¹⁹ J / 1 eV) = 0.5312 10⁻⁻¹⁹ J

let's calculate

Ф = 6.63 10⁻⁻³⁴ 6.64 10¹¹ - 0.5312 10⁻¹⁹

Ф = 4.40 10⁻²² - 0.5312 10⁻¹⁹

Ф = 5.27 10⁻²⁰ J

for the minimum frequency that produces photoelectrons, the kinetic energy is zero

hf = Ф

f = Ф / h

f = 5.27 10⁻²⁰ / 6.63 10⁻³⁴

f = 7.9487 10¹³ Hz