- #1
ENgez
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I have been thaught that the magintude of the current generated by photons fired at a metal is unrelated to the frequency of the photons but to the photon beam's srength (photons/sec).
I know from the governing equation: [itex] E_{\gamma}=\phi+E_{k_{e^{-}}}[/itex] that the frequency of the photons determines the amount of kinetic energy given to an electron, and that the kinetic energy grows (the free electron moves faster) as the photon's frequency grows.
The definition of current is electrons/sec through a given cross-section.
that means that the current can grow when:
a) there are more free electrons, achieved by firing more photons (increasing the beams strength)
b) making the electrons faster, by increasing the frequency of the photons.
so the photon's frequency does influence the magnitude of the current. Where am i wrong?
I know from the governing equation: [itex] E_{\gamma}=\phi+E_{k_{e^{-}}}[/itex] that the frequency of the photons determines the amount of kinetic energy given to an electron, and that the kinetic energy grows (the free electron moves faster) as the photon's frequency grows.
The definition of current is electrons/sec through a given cross-section.
that means that the current can grow when:
a) there are more free electrons, achieved by firing more photons (increasing the beams strength)
b) making the electrons faster, by increasing the frequency of the photons.
so the photon's frequency does influence the magnitude of the current. Where am i wrong?