Work Function
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Work Function
In the lecture last week Lavelle explained that to find the kinetic energy of an ejected electron, you subtract the work function from the energy of a photon (E=hv). What does the work function represent? Is it something that we need to know how to find or will it always be a given number in problems?
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Re: Work Function
hi there!
the work function is the amount of energy needed to remove an electron from a metal surface
i think more often than not it will be given in hw problems, but if there comes a time when you need to calculate it, it should be quite easy if you use the equation from lecture ( the work function = the energy of a photon (E=hv) - kinetic energy of an ejected electron)
the work function is the amount of energy needed to remove an electron from a metal surface
i think more often than not it will be given in hw problems, but if there comes a time when you need to calculate it, it should be quite easy if you use the equation from lecture ( the work function = the energy of a photon (E=hv) - kinetic energy of an ejected electron)
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Re: Work Function
Yep, and each metal requires a different amount of energy to remove an electron from the surface. I am assuming that if you are solving for another variable like wavelength or the photon energy, the work function will be given but can be calculated manually using the equation @dtolentino4H provided.
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