Experiment # 1

Determination of Planck’s constant and work function of metals using photoelectric effect

possibilities that could happen.

i. First, if the potential is small then the

potential energy at the anode is less than
the kinetic energy of the electrons and
there is a current through the tube.
ii. The second is if the potential is large
enough the potential energy at the anode is
larger than the kinetic energy and the
electrons are driven back to the cathode. In
this case, there is no current.
iii. The third case is if the voltage just stops the electrons (with maximum kinetic
energy Tmax) from

reaching the anode. The voltage required to do this is called the “stopping potential"
(V0). A typical IV characteristics for a given frequency of light is also depicted in
Fig. 2. Thus Eq. 1 can be rewritten as,

𝑒𝑉o = ℎ𝜈 – 𝑒𝛷 ()

𝑉o = h ఔ − 𝛷 (3)
e

It is worth noting here that, since the anode and cathode surfaces are different, an
additional contact potential “A” comes into the picture which simply gets added to the
work function “F”. Eq. (3) can be written in terms of wavelength as

hc 1
𝑉 = − (𝛷 + 𝐴) (4)
( )( )
o e ఒ

Standard value of h is known to be 6.626×10-34Js-1.

Experimental Set up:

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 Experiment # 1

Determination of Planck’s constant and work function of metals using photoelectric effect

The present experimental set-up (see Fig. 3) comprises of a tungsten-halogen light

source with five different color filters, a Cesium-type vacuum phototube, a built-in
power supply and a current multiplier. The base of the phototube is built into a dark

room and in front of it a receptor (pipe) is installed to mount filters.

Procedure:

1. Plug in and switch on the apparatus using the red button at the bottom right corner
of the set up.
2. Before the lamp is switched on, put the toggle switch in current mode and check
that the dark current is zero.
3. Turn on the lamp source (it may take 5-10 mins. to warm up). Set the light
intensity near to maximum. Note that the intensity should be such that the value of
current should not exceed the display range. In case it happens, you need to reduce
the intensity. You should not change intensity while taking data.
4. Insert one of the five specified filters into the drawtube of the receptor.
5. Set the voltage direction switch to “+ve” polarity. Adjust the voltage knob at
minimum and current knob at “X 0.1” position which means the resolution is up
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 Experiment # 1

Determination of Planck’s constant and work function of metals using photoelectric effect

to one decimal point. Vary the voltage and record the current till the value of
current becomes relatively constant. Use the display mode switch to record the
values of voltage and the corresponding current each time
6. Now, set the voltage direction switch to “-ve” polarity. Adjust the voltage knob at
minimum and current knob at “X 0.001” (we need higher resolution since current
will be less here). Vary the voltage and record the current till the value of current
becomes 0. Use the display mode switch to record the values of voltage and the
corresponding current each time.
7. The above steps 5 and 6 provides data to plot the I-V characteristics of the
phototube for the wavelength (or frequency) selected by the filter.
8. Repeat the steps 5-7 for all the filters provided.
9. Fill up the observation tables and draw necessary plots. Determine the values of
planck’s constant and work function of the metal used in the phototube.

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 Experiment # 1

Determination of Planck’s constant and work function of metals using photoelectric effect

Observations:

Specification of Filters:

Table-1: For I-V characteristics

Color Blue Green Yellow Orange Red

Wavelength 460 500 540 570 635
(nm) 𝜆
Voltage (+ ve
Polarity
Current (𝜇𝐴)
Voltage (-ve
Polarity)
Current (𝜇𝐴)

Table-2 Data for stopping potential ~ wavelength

Stopping
Potential (V)
Wavelength
(nm)

Graph:

1. Plot I~ V characteristics for different wavelengths.

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 Experiment # 1

Determination of Planck’s constant and work function of metals using photoelectric effect

2. Plot Stopping potential ~ (1/wavelength) and calculate slope and intercept

using Eq. 4. A sample graph is shown in Fig.4.

Calculation and estimation of error: Determine h and f and estimate error.

Precautions:

1. Rotate all the knobs very slowly.

2. Handle the filters with utmost care and avoid touching their surfaces.

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Experiment # 2

Determination of dielectric constant of liquid and solid.

INTRODUCTION

The concept of capacitance involves the understanding of concentration of electric field

between the two plates of a capacitor, which depends on the dielectric material between
the plates of a capacitor. The relation which connects the character of the dielectric
sosrA
material (called dielectric constant, 𝜀r ) with the capacitance is a simple, i.e 𝐶 = .
d

THEORY:

According to Coulomb’s law, the force between two charges is given by the equation:

q1q2
𝐹=𝑘
r2 (1)

The equation has the identical form as Newton’s law of gravitation and the constant k is
analogous to the gravitational constant which determines the force between two masses.
The dielectric constant 𝜀omeasured here is related to k by:

1
𝑘=
4 πso (2)

A parallel plate capacitor consists of two parallel conducting plates. If we move an

electric charge Q from one plate to the other at a potential ΔV, the capacitance of the
pair may be calculated using the equation:

Q
𝐶=
ΔV (3)

The electric field which exists between the plates is simply:

ΔV
𝐸= d (4)

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Experiment # 2

Determination of dielectric constant of solid.

Where d is the distance between the plates. If the surface charge density is σ, then
Gauss’s law says the potential difference and electric field between the plates is:

σd
𝛥𝑉 = 𝐸𝑑 =
so (5)

If the plate area is A, then the total charge on the plate is Q=σA. The plate capacitance is
now:

Q
𝐶= soA (6)
ΔV = d

If the medium between the two plates is something besides free space, then it is necessary
to replace 𝜀o with the dielectric constant of the material. Usually this is expressed using
s
the term relative dielectric, 𝜀r = where ε is the dielectric constant of the material and
so

εr is its relative dielectric value. The relative dielectric is therefore a unit less number
usually in the range of 1 to 20. The capacitance with a dielectric medium of dielectric
constant 𝜀r will then be:

sosrA
𝐶= d (7)

Commercially available capacitors are either cylindrical or disc type. In both the cases, it
is not possible to study variation of capacitance with distance between the plates or
determine the dimensions; area and distance between the plates, in order to calculate the
dielectric constant of the medium. Here we use commercially available aluminum panel
sheets1 of different sizes as
capacitors. By measuring the areas
and noting the distance between the
aluminum sheets from the data
available from the manufacturer, we
can determine the dielectric constant

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Figure 1