Photoelectric effect, discrete values of the tangent

[LostConjugate]

It puzzles me. In Einstein's paper on the photoelectric effect he proposed that photons with $$E = nhf$$ were the explanation.

Wouldn't a more elegant explanation be that the tangent of the electromagentic wave must take on discrete values because of the boundary conditions between the emitter and the metal plate? This seems to give the same results, the acceleration and therefor the energy of the wave would be in quanta $$E = nhf$$.

I don't see a need to use the particle theory of light to describe this experiment in it's original form.

 

[azntoon]

In Einstein's paper, he proposed that light is composed of small quanta of energy (photons) and that this could explain the photoelectric effect. This idea was revolutionary at the time as most scientists believed that light was a wave-like phenomenon. The idea that light was composed of particles with discrete amounts of energy was a new concept. The explanation that you propose, involving the boundary conditions between the emitter and the metal plate, is an interesting one. While it does give the same results as Einstein's theory, it does not provide a physical explanation for why the light energy is quantized, as Einstein's theory does. Therefore, while your explanation is valid, Einstein's theory provides a more comprehensive understanding of the photoelectric effect.