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5 Oct 2009 10:33:45 IST

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what is work function

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what is work function

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harsh

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5 Oct 2009 11:08:17 IST

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it is the minm amt of energy requred to eject electrons frm a heated metal surface......

edison

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5 Oct 2009 11:45:23 IST

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Work Functions for Photoelectric Effect

Element	Work Function(eV)
Aluminum	4.08
Beryllium	5.0
Cadmium	4.07
Calcium	2.9
Carbon	4.81
Cesium	2.1
Cobalt	5.0
Copper	4.7
Gold	5.1
Iron	4.5
Lead	4.14
Magnesium	3.68
Mercury	4.5
Nickel	5.01
Niobium	4.3
Potassium	2.3
Platinum	6.35
Selenium	5.11
Silver	4.73
Sodium	2.28
Uranium	3.6
Zinc	4.3

Some data from Handbook of Chemistry and Physics.

edison

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5 Oct 2009 11:47:18 IST

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In solid state physics, the work function is the minimum energy (usually measured in electron volts) needed to remove an electron from a solid to a point immediately outside the solid surface (or energy needed to move an electron from the Fermi energy level into vacuum). Here "immediately" means that the final electron position is far from the surface on the atomic scale but still close to the solid on the macroscopic scale. The work function is a characteristic property for any solid faceof a substance with a conduction band (whether empty or partly filled). For a metal, the Fermi level is inside the conduction band, indicating that the band is partly filled. For an insulator, the Fermi level lies within the band gap, indicating an empty conduction band; in this case, the minimum energy to remove an electron is about the sum of half the band gap, and the work function.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Work_function

Dharav Solanki

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5 Oct 2009 19:45:16 IST

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A very humble question sir. What is the point of copying and pasting content from wikipedia which a user can already go and read himself? Does it clear his doubt at all? If information could help a person learn, we would not need this forum in the first place!

Dharav Solanki

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5 Oct 2009 19:51:24 IST

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Hey Aditya! You asked about work function. Work function is a simple definition - It is the minimum amount of energy needed to eject an electron from a metal. There is nothing more to it!

I assume you have some other confusion regarding the whole concept. Please tell us what your confusion exactly is. Like, "how can an electron be ejected? How can a metal become charged - they are supposed to be neutral.." and all those kind of questions!

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