photoelectric effect, Phenomenon in which charged particles are released from a material when it absorbs radiant energy (see radiation). It is often thought of as the ejection of electrons from the surface of a metal plate when visible light falls on it. It can also occur if the radiation is in the wavelength range of ultraviolet radiation, X rays, or gamma rays. The emitting surface may be a solid, liquid, or gas, and the emitted particles may be electrons or ions. The effect was discovered in 1887 by Heinrich Hertz and explained by Albert Einstein in work for which he received the Nobel Prize.
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