Scientific American presents Everyday Einstein by Quick & Dirty Tips. Scientific American and Quick & Dirty Tips are both Macmillan companies. When you think of Albert Einstein, what do you think of?

When light hits a material, electrons can be released from this material -- the photoelectric effect. Although this effect played a major role in the development of the quantum theory, it still holds ...

The photoelectric effect is a phenomenon where light knocks electrons out of a material, resulting in the emission of these electrons, called photoelectrons. Albert Einstein explained the ...

In a flash: artist's impression of the photoelectric effect. (Courtesy: Technical University of Vienna) Just 45 quintillionth of a second (45 attoseconds) is all it takes for a photon to liberate an ...

June 9, 2022, marks 117 years since Einstein published his groundbreaking paper on the photoelectric principle. The analysis was published on June 9, 1905, also known as Einstein’s “miracle year” ...