Intensity VS Energy Models? [ENDORSED]

[Sophia Diaz - Dis 1B]

I know that in lecture we went over why high intensity doesn't always mean high energy and that there were 2 different models used to explain this. However, I don't understand this concept in terms of the 2 different models and why the wave model doesn't reflect the actual energy of a light.

Could someone explain to me how the difference between intensity and actual energy relates to the models we were shown in class?

[Mario Reyes 1C]

If we used the wave model increasing the intensity of the light should eject electrons from the metal surface, because increasing intensity of the light means increasing the energy since that increases the amplitude of the wave. However, this was not the case and electrons were not ejected even when the intensity increased. The particle model proves that light acts as photons because they found that by lowering the wavelength (increasing the frequency), electrons were removed because that increased the energy. The particle models states that 1 photon (packet of energy) equals 1 electron. So pretty much in the particle model increasing the intensity means increasing the number of photons, but if they do not reach the threshold energy then no electrons will be emitted.

[Harmonie Ahuna-1C]

To add on to this, does light intensity matter for the photoelectric effect?

[Mario Reyes 1C]

To add on to this, does light intensity matter for the photoelectric effect?

It does matter in terms of how many electrons are emitted. If the energy of the photon is above the threshold, then increasing the intensity would cause more electrons to be emitted since intensity can be thought of as number of photons using the particle model.

[Phil Timoteo 1K]

To add on to this, does light intensity matter for the photoelectric effect?

Yes it does matter in terms of electrons.