photoelectric effect

American  

noun

Physics.

1. the phenomenon in which the absorption of electromagnetic radiation, as light, of sufficiently high frequency by a surface, usually metallic, induces the emission of electrons from the surface.

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photoelectric effect British  

noun

1. the ejection of electrons from a solid by an incident beam of sufficiently energetic electromagnetic radiation

2. any phenomenon involving electricity and electromagnetic radiation, such as photoemission

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photoelectric effect Scientific  

1. The emission of electrons from a material, such as a metal, as a result of being struck by photons. Some substances, such as selenium, are particularly susceptible to this effect. The photoelectric effect is used in photoelectric and solar cells to create an electric potential.

2. Also called photoemission

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photoelectric effect Cultural  

1. The emission of electrons from a metal when light shines on it. The effect is widely used to convert a light signal into an electric current (see also current).

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Etymology

Origin of photoelectric effect

First recorded in 1890–95

Example Sentences

The new device relies on a phenomenon known as the in-plane photoelectric effect.

From Science Daily • May 31, 2026

They have named this the photomolecular effect, by analogy with the photoelectric effect that was discovered by Heinrich Hertz in 1887 and finally explained by Albert Einstein in 1905.

From Science Daily • Apr. 24, 2024

For now, we will use the photon concept to explain the photoelectric effect, much as Einstein did.

From Textbooks • Aug. 12, 2015

Thomson performed a variety of experiments using differing gases in discharge tubes and employing other methods, such as the photoelectric effect, for freeing electrons from atoms.

From Textbooks • Aug. 12, 2015

Einstein’s earlier pathbreaking work on the photoelectric effect suggested strongly that light was composed of a stream of “light quanta,” or particles.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik