Question

The photoelectric effect was discovered by
1. Einstein
2. Heinrich Rudolf Hertz
3. Rutherford
4. Bohr

Answer 1

Correct Answer - Option 2 : Heinrich Rudolf Hertz

The correct answer is option 2) i.e. Hertz

CONCEPT:

• Photoelectric effect: The photoelectric effect is a phenomenon where electrons are ejected from a metal surface when the light of sufficient frequency is incident on it.
  • The photoelectric effect was discovered by Heinrich Rudolf Hertz. When ultraviolet light was incident on two metal electrodes with a voltage applied across them, Hertz observed that the light changed the voltage at which sparking takes place. This gave him the idea about light-emitting electrons from a metal surface.
  • ​Einstein later suggested that light behaved like a particle and that each particle of light had energy called the photon. 

EXPLANATION:

• The phenomenon of the photoelectric effect was discovered by Heinrich Rudolf Hertz.