Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
!
Vs = Stopping Potential (Volts)
Colour
1st. Order (Left) 1st. Order (Right) 2nd. Order (Left) 2nd. Order (Right)
Yellow
0.445
0.489
0.362
0.290
Green
0.536
0.574
0.431
0.303
Blue
0.893
0.985
0.885
1.066
Blueviolet
0.963
1.079
0.943
1.112
Darkviolet
1.112
1.297
1.067
1.345
Table 1: Data obtained from the experiment for the Stopping Potential of Spectral Colours for 1st. and 2nd. Order
Yellow
0.467
0.326
Green
0.555
0.367
Blue
0.939
0.975
Blueviolet
1.021
1.027
Darkviolet
1.204
1.206
Table 2: Average for the Stopping Potential of Spectral Colours for 1st. and 2nd.
Colour
Wavelenght (nm)
Yellow
578
Green
546.074
Blue
435.835
Blueviolet
404.656
Darkviolet
365.483
!Conversion of nm to m
!!
!!
!
!
!!
!!
Frequency (Hz)
1st. Order
2nd. Order
Yellow
5.17 E14
0.467
0.326
Green
5.47 E14
0.555
0.367
Blue
6.86 E14
0.939
0.975
Blueviolet
7.38 E14
1.021
1.027
Darkviolet
8.18 E14
1.204
1.206
1.400
1.200
1.000
0.800
0.600
0.400
0.200
0.000
5.17 E14
5.47 E14
6.86 E14
7.38 E14
8.18 E14
Frequency (Hz)
Figure 2: Graph of Stopping Potential (V) vs. Frequency (Hz) for the 1st. Order
Sample Calculation:
!!
!!
Y - intercept:
X - intercept:
!!
!
!
!!
!
!
!
!
!
!!
!
!!
!!
The Y - intercept =
!!
The X - intercept =
!
!!
!!
!!
!!
Planks Constant:
!
!!
!
!!
Error:
!!
!!
!
!
!
Work function for the emitting surface:
!
!
!
!
2nd. Order
1.400
1.200
1.000
0.800
0.600
0.400
0.200
0.000
5.17 E14
5.47 E14
6.86 E14
7.38 E14
8.18 E14
Frequency (Hz)
Figure 3: Graph of Stopping Potential (V) vs. Frequency (Hz) for the 2nd. Order
!!
Slope of the graph:
!!
!
!Y - intercept:
X - intercept:
!!
!!
!
!!
!!
!!
The Y - intercept:
!!
The X - intercept:
!!
!!
Planks Constants:
!Error:
!!
Work function for the emitting surface:
!!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
In this lab, we performed the photoelectric effect of electrons that are emitted from metal surfaces. The
analysis of the relation of the frequency of light, the Planks constant and the work function of the
emitting surface was our main focus.
!
In the experiment the voltage was measured with the voltmeter which corresponds to the stopping
potential Vs. Each of the stopping potential for the different colours of light was compared with its
frequency of light from where we can obtained the graph on Figure 2. and Figure 3. The former
representing the 1st. order of light and the latter the 2nd. order of light. In both of the graphs we can
observed that a positive linear slope is obtained. After doing the analysis of the resulting graphs we can
obtain the the value of the slope for the graph, the x and y intercepts which let us calculate the Planks
constant and the work function of the emitting surface.
!
!
!
The calculated value of the Planks constant after manipulating the previous equation was 3.094 E-34
(m^2kg/s) for the 1st. order and 4.672 E-34 (m^2kg/s), which compared with the theoretical value of
6.625 E-34 (m^2kg/s) shows that there is a big percentage of error. For the 1st. order was about 41.07 %
and for the 2nd. order was about 29.47%. There are multiple reasons why the error is of a such
magnitude. First of all in every experiment exists an error due to the difficulty to simulate the perfect
conditions for the experiment. Every decimal unit that is altered in a experiment can represent a
significant change in the results, which could be one of the reasons. The digital devices that we used for
the experiment decreases the error percentage, but sometimes these devices have malfunctions or are not
calibrated properly. For this experiment the most important factor was the surrounding light. Since the
room was not completely dark the sensor was receiving wave lights from other sources which clearly
changed the expected results.
To increase the accuracy of the results we could try to get a better environment when performing the lab.
First a much darker environment with no interference of others waves of light. A proper check and
calibration of the measurement devices. Also the repetition of the experiment several times to get more
accurate data when calculating the average of the stopping potential could increase the accuracy of the
experiment, giving as a result a more exact value for the Planks constant.
!
Although all the difficulties the experiment was a success and we can conclude that the stopping
potential, depends on the frequency of the light emitted. The relationship is proportional, meaning that the
higher the frequency of the light emitted, the higher is the maximum kinetic energy of the electrons
emitted as well as the stopping potential.
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!