Abstract
DR. SOMMER is well known for his work on photo-electric cells, and in this monograph he collects the basic work done by himself and others between 1931 and 1945. While there have been excellent texts on the industrial applications of photo-electric devices, there appears to be no review of the theoretical and research work since about 1934, so we are grateful to Dr. Sommer for his work and his bibliography. He is here concerned solely with photo-emissive cells. Commencing with Hertz, Planck and Einstein, he outlines the theory of emission, and shows how the number of materials useful as photo-emitters is strictly limited by ionization energy and work function, as well as physical properties. He then deals with the relationship of the wave-length of the incident light, the resulting emission, and the effect of gas in the enclosure. The manufacture of photo-cathodes is then outlined, and also the way in which they can be used for practical applications. Of great value is his critical table outlining the suitable types of cells for established technology, such as photometry, sound-film reproduction, picture-telegraphy, and television.
Photoelectric Cells
Dr.
A.
Sommer
By. (Methuen's Monographs on Physical Subjects.) Pp. viii + 104. (London: Methuen and Co., Ltd., 1946.) 5s. net.
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HUGHES, L. Photoelectric Cells. Nature 160, 854 (1947). https://doi.org/10.1038/160854c0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/160854c0