CBSE Class 12 · 2022 · Modern PhysicsShort Answer

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Why is it the frequency and not the intensity of the light source that determines whether emission of photoelectrons will occur or not? Explain.

Answer: Emission needs ; intensity changes only the photon number.

Solution

Each electron is ejected by absorbing a single photon of energy . Emission needs this energy to exceed the work function, i.e. or .
Increasing the intensity only increases the number of photons, not the energy per photon. If , no single photon can free an electron, however many photons strike. Hence it is the frequency, not the intensity, that decides whether emission occurs.

CBSE Class 12 Board · 2022 · Subjective

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