photoelectric

American  

[foh-toh-i-lek-trik] / ˌfoʊ toʊ ɪˈlɛk trɪk /

Sometimes photoelectrical

adjective

1. pertaining to the electronic or other electric effects produced by light.

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photoelectric British  

/ ˌfəʊtəʊɪˈlɛktrɪk, ˌfəʊtəʊɪlɛkˈtrɪsɪtɪ /

adjective

1. of or concerned with electric or electronic effects caused by light or other electromagnetic radiation

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photoelectric Scientific  

/ fō′tō-ĭ-lĕk′trĭk /

1. Relating to or exhibiting to electrical effects upon exposure to light. For example, some photoelectric materials emit electrons called photoelectrons upon exposure to certain frequencies of light; others, such as photoresistors and phototransistors, change their electrical properties.

2. See also photoelectric effect

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Other Word Forms

• photoelectrically adverb
• photoelectricity noun

Etymology

Origin of photoelectric

First recorded in 1860–65; photo- + electric

Example Sentences

When such particles enter a chamber in the device, they scatter light from a small light source, which is then picked up by a photoelectric sensor.

From BBC • Jan. 15, 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

QDs are semiconducting nanocrystals with typical dimensions ranging from several to tens of nanometers, capable of controlling photoelectric properties based on their particle size.

From Science Daily • Feb. 21, 2024

At Cal Tech, physicist Robert Millikan brought home the first of Southern California’s dozens of Nobel Prizes “for his work on the elementary charge of electricity and on the photoelectric effect.”

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 16, 2023

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