Sections
Key Terms
Key Terms
- blackbody
- object that absorbs all radiated energy that strikes it and also emits energy across all wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum
- Compton effect
- phenomenon whereby X-rays scattered from materials have decreased energy
- electric eye
- group of devices that use the photoelectric effect for detection
- particle-wave duality
- property of behaving like either a particle or a wave; the term for the phenomenon that all particles have wave-like characteristics and waves have particle-like characteristics
- photoelectric effect
- phenomenon whereby some materials eject electrons when exposed to light
- photoelectron
- electron that has been ejected from a material by a photon of light
- photon
- a quantum, or particle, of electromagnetic radiation
- photon momentum
- amount of momentum of a photon, calculated by
- quantized
- the fact that certain physical entities exist only with particular discrete values and not every conceivable value
- quantum
- discrete packet or bundle of a physical entity such as energy
- ultraviolet catastrophe
- misconception that blackbodies would radiate high frequency energy at a much higher rate than energy radiated at lower frequencies