Professional Documents
Culture Documents
1901
1905
Fig. 2: Gold-leaf
elektroscope (19th c.)
Model-ideas:
Fig. 4: Lenard#s
multi-electrode-tube
Model-ideas:
Model-ideas:
Theory-formation:
Picture credits:
Portraits: IGN (Hertz), Wikipedia, de and en (Einstein) (GNU-license for
free documentation).
Fig. 1 und 2: www.sparkmuseum.com (1.5.2012).
Fig. 3, 5: Hallwachs 1916. Fig. 4: Lenard 1899.
Fig. 6: Metzler Physik, 3. Ed., 1998.
Fig. 7: Wikipedia (GNU-license for free documentation).
Theory-formation:
Hypotheses:
" that Electricity goes away from negatively loaded bodies
with the exposure to ultraviolet rays of light and that it
follows the acting electrostatic forces in the field.
" that at the surface some kind of a divorce of the
Electricities may happen".
Observations (selection):
H. simplifies Hertzs test setup, takes up his results. Uses naked,
electrically loaded metal-plates, bow-lamp and magnesiumlight, makes quantitative measurements using an Elektroskop
with line-division.
Negatively loaded plate is unloaded by light (basic
experiment), positively loaded plate remains unchanged in
the light. The discharge begins, " as soon as the rays of light
strike upon the plate,."
Proof, that the photoelectric effect is created by ultraviolet
light and not by red light or thermal radiation.
Proof, that the effect is created at the plates surface.
Plates from different metals show differently strong effect.
Discharge of a plate correspondents with a (weaker) charge
of a close, opposite, isolated plate.
An unloaded plate is loaded positively by ultra violet light
up to 2,1 Volts.
Lenard uses the concept "quantum" 1899 for the first time, but
related exclusively on outgoing electricity. With him that means
on an idea of bodies attached with mass, negatively electrically
loaded. The name " electron " was not yet known, see remark
at Hallwachs about Drude.
Compare with the known cathode rays.
Particularly in the second Lenard article (1902) definit
corpuscular ideas of the escaped charge carriers.
Model-ideas:
Theory-formation:
In his "annus mirabilis" 1905 Einstein published four basic articles in the
Annalen der Physik, the first explaining the photo-effect.
Einstein based his theory on the results and considerations of Wien and
Lenard and takes up Plancks theory of the black radiation, which
according to Planck is emitted and absorbed in discreet energy quanta h.
For the better understanding of some optical observations, Einstein
suggests the assumption of an abstract idea namely that the energy of
light is distributed discontinuous in space in form of light quanta. The
photo-effect can be explained well with this hypothesis. Einstein got:
= /, in modern form: eU = hf - Wa, the equation of the
photoelectric straight line. The validity of this equation was experimentally
confirmed by Millikan.
Observations (selection):
Result of the experiment with oil drops: The electric charge of
mechanical (through stripping) loaded oil drops only exists in
whole-number multiples of a smallest charge, the elementary
charge e.
Model-ideas:
Only the pure corpuscular idea of electrons and ions is clearly
recognizable, since M. only deals with electric and physical
properties of bodies with visible sizes. The corpuscular idea of
quanta of electromagnetic radiation refuses Millikan as untenable
without justifying this attitude.
Theory-formation:
The size of the elementary charge is a universal constant:
e = 1,60218 S 10 -19 C.
Model-ideas:
Plancks idea of electromagnetic radiation was exclusively wavetheoretically oriented. The basis of the calculation of the power
distribution of the radiation was the model of the "Black Body"
introduced by Kirchhoff, or "Black Emitter", who absorbs the
striking radiation of each wavelength completely, and whose
spectrum of radiation as thermal emitter, specifically its
maximum, only depends on the temperature. The Black Emitter
works as a Hertzs resonator, therefore as an oscillator which
emits and absorbs radiation with solid frequency. It is realized
best by a cavity with intransparent inside-walls and small
opening. Planck combined this model with the idea that the
inside-walls of the Black Emitter are covered with very many
homogeneous, but with different frequencies of monochrome
vibrant resonators. So emission and absorption are possible with
any frequencies.
Theory-formation:
The big number of deceased vibrant resonators forces a
statistical calculation of the total energy E of the radiation.
Plancks revolutionizing assumption was that E is "composed by
a quite certain number of finite equal parts", therefore by
elements of energy proportional to the frequency number
with the constants h: = h. The distribution of energy
calculated with this assumption can be described by the same
law as the spectral formula, which Planck half intuitively
developed previously by trying and which he called improvement
of Wiens formula.