The Photoelectric Effect In 1886 and 1887, Heinrich Hertz discovered that ultraviolet light can cause electrons to be ejected from a metal surface. Heinrich Rudolf Hertz (1857 – 1894) was a German physicist who is most famous for his work in the field of electromagnetism.In 1865, Scottish scientist James Maxwell had proposed that light was an electromagnetic wave; and that there existed other electromagnetic waves moving at the speed of light.Many in the scientific community were trying to prove Maxwell’s theory. Hertz had observed that, under the right conditions, when light is shined on a metal, electrons are released. For example, Heinrich Hertz of Germany was the first person to see the photoelectric effect, in 1887.He discovered that if he shone ultraviolet … Since this was just about the time that the electron itself was first identified the phenomenon was not really understood. The photoelectric effect was discovered by Heinrich Hertz in 1897 while performing experiments that led to the discovery of electromagnetic waves. Einstein explained the photoelectric effect by introducing early quantum ideas, but Heinrich Hertz discovered the effect in metals experimentally in 1887. In connection with all that we have discussed the work on radio waves that Hertz observed that when the ultraviolet light shines on two metal electrodes with a voltage that is applied across them, the light changes the voltage at which sparking takes place generally. The Photoelectric Effect. While working with a spark-gap transmitter (a primitive radio-broadcasting device), Hertz discovered that upon absorption of certain frequencies of light, substances would give off a visible spark. Lesson 33: Photoelectric Effect Hertz Experiment Heinrich Hertz was doing experiments in 1887 to test some of Maxwell's theories of EMR. In 1905 Albert Einstein, a 3rd Class This, too, was one of those handful of phenomena that Classical Physics could not explain. The Photoelectric Effect HISTORY The year is 1905, and your name is Albert Einstein. The photoelectric effect was first documented in 1887 by the German physicist Heinrich Hertz and is therefore sometimes referred to as the Hertz effect. (Earlier observations of similar effects in nonmetals were made by Alexandre Becquerel in 1839 and Willoughby Smith in 1873; both can be explained by Einstein’s theory.) Heinrich Hertz first observed this photoelectric effect in 1887. Question: To Understand The Experiment That Led To The Discovery Of The Photoelectric Effect.In 1887, Heinrich Hertz Investigated The Phenomenon Of Light Striking A Metal Surface, Causing The Ejection Of Electrons From The Metal. In 1887, Heinrich Hertz discovered that certain metals emit electrons when light is incident on them. 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