Photoelectric Effect Initial Purpose

[Matia Kim 1B]

The photoelectric effect was an "accidental finding", what was the original purpose of the study? Did they ever follow up on that purpose?

[Erin Kim 2G]

They thought that the Kinetic Energy of electrons released would be proportional to the INTENSITY of the light. However they found that was not the case, and actually the frequency correlated to the release of electrons.

[RoopshaChatterjee 1G]

I understand how the experiment debunked the idea that light consists only of wave-like properties; however, how did the results lead them to the conclusion that light contains photons of energy where one proton interacts in one electron?

[jane_ni_2d]

The purpose of the photoelectric effect was to explore how light was transmitted. They believed that light was transmitted based on the intensity of the light that can be seen. However, it was discovered that light is actually transmitted based on the frequency and wavelength of the electron light waves.

[Nell Mitchell 1E]

My understanding was that the initial purpose of the experiment was a practical experiment to finalize the properties of different metals by identifying how much (what intensity of) light was needed to remove electrons for each metal. What they accidentally found was that the relationship they assumed between intensity of light and removal of electrons did not exist and that more intense light did not lead to removal of more electrons or an easier removal of electrons.