Abstract
THE subject of photoelectricity has of late become of primary importance in physical theory. The present book is a laudable attempt to survey the whole of the complex phenomena included in that title. The author divides the phenomena into external ones, where electrons are projected outside the substance, and internal ones, where the photo-effect is confined to the interior of the substance. The former class is most familiar to physicists, and has been greatly cleared up by the verification of Einstein's quantum theory of photoelectric action. The author refers to Elster and Geitel's success in discovering single quanta by photoelectric action, and adds, “this attains the sensitiveness of the human eye”. He should have said “greatly exceeds”, since the human eye requires at least 200 quanta per second to perceive light.
Lichtelektrische Erscheinungen.
Von Prof. Bernhard Gudden. (Struktur der Materie in Einzeldarstellungen, herausgegeben von M. Born und J. Franck, Band 8.) Pp. ix + 325. (Berlin: Julius Springer, 1928.) 24 gold marks.
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Lichtelektrische Erscheinungen . Nature 124, 572 (1929). https://doi.org/10.1038/124572b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/124572b0