Many Worlds Theory

Somewhere in the wilderness of Toelek is a store.  Inside the store are clerks.  The clerks sell bags of Wavy Lay’s potato chips:

Now, the thing is, if you give money to clerks to buy some chips, the clerks never give any money back: they’re greedy.  What’s more, they leave the store immediately with whatever money they have left over from the transaction.  However, the clerks don’t always get very far, because out behind the store is a bridge that the clerks have to cross, and the bridge is guarded by a troll named Voltar.  The troll is greedy, too.  He demands a toll, and if a clerk can’t pay up then he can’t cross the bridge.

Toelek is a weird place.  Its citizens have a very rigid society, and people are required to wear differently colored clothing depending upon how much money they have in their pocket.  The money is always in multiple of 50 cents.  For example, if you carry $0.50 then you must wear red; if you carry $1.00 you must wear orange; if you carry $1.50 you must wear yellow.

Look, over there—I see a line of people approaching the store.  They’re all wearing red.  They enter the store…but I don’t see any clerks exiting out the back, and consequently no clerks cross the bridge.  More and more reds go into the store, and a faster and faster rate, but it doesn’t matter.  There are no clerks coming out.  The troll doesn’t get any business.

I conclude that a bag of chips costs more than $0.50.

Later, I see a line of oranges go into the store.  I now observe some clerks coming out, but none of these can cross the bridge.  I conclude that chips cost $1.00, but since the clerks have no money left over, they can’t pay the troll’s toll.

Even later, I see a line of yellows go into the store.  Clerks are coming out, and these can cross the bridge.  The troll must be demanding a toll of $0.50 or less.

There are many quantities which are important in analyzing this situation: the amount of money a person has before entering the store (use E for entering), the price of a bag of Wavy Lay’s potato chips (let’s call this price W), the toll that Voltar the troll demands (let’s call this V), and the amount of money a clerk has, K (they speak Dutch in Toelek, so the clerks are called klerks) upon exiting the store.  It should be obvious that

K = E – W,

since the amount of money a clerk has upon leaving the store is just the amount of money a person has upon entering the store minus the cost of some chips.  Additionally, for a clerk to cross the bridge, it must be true that

E – W ≥ V

so that the clerk has enough to pay the toll.  If the clerk barely makes it, this inequality is an equality and

E – W = V.

The V at which this happens (for a given E and W) is called the cutoff toll V_o;  if Voltar were to increase the toll by any amount at all, the clerks wouldn’t get to cross the bridge.

It’s interesting to graph the cutoff toll V_o vs. money that customers have upon entering the store E.  You get something like this:

Notice that the cutoff value of E is $1.00, which is the price of a bag of chips.  At or below this value the troll need not charge any toll at all, since no clerk will have any money to pay him.  That is, when V = V_o = 0,  then E = W.

WHAT’S GOING ON?

The physicists reading this blog have already guessed the game I’m playing: I have presented an analogy for Einstein’s explanation of the photoelectric effect (hence Toelek, from fotoelektrisch).  Make the following transformations:

Customers = photons;

Color of customer = frequency of photon;

Money = energy;

Store = photoelectric material;

Price of chips = work function;

Clerks = electrons;

Clerk’s money = kinetic energy;

Bridge = potential difference;

Voltar’s toll = kinetic energy required to jump the gap.

With these transformations, you can re-write the story as follows:

There is a photoelectric material, a metal such as platinum.  Inside the metal are electrons.  The electrons can be liberated if enough energy is added.

Now, the thing is, if you give energy to electrons to liberate them, the electrons don’t give any energy back: they’re greedy.  What’s more, they leave the metal immediately with whatever energy they have left over from the transaction.  However, the electrons don’t always get very far, because out behind the metal is a potential difference that the electrons have to cross in order for current to be observed.  Jumping this gap requires a certain amount of kinetic energy, without which the electrons don’t produce current.

How do we add energy to the metal?  Well, by shining light on it.  Light energy is quantized, in chunks called photons.  The energy of a single photon is proportional to its frequency, by Einstein’s formula E = hf.

Look, over there—I see some red light (E = 1.9 eV) approaching the metal.  Unfortunately, no electrons exit out the back, and consequently there is no current.  More and more red photons hit the metal, and a faster and faster rate, but it doesn’t matter.  There are no electrons coming out.

I conclude that the amount of energy need to liberate an electron (called the work function) is greater than 1.9 eV.

Later, I see orange light (E = 2.1 eV) go into the metal.  I now observe some electrons coming out, but none of these produce current.  I conclude that the work function is W = 2.1 eV.

Even later, I see yellow light (E = 2.18 eV) go in.  Electrons are coming out, and these can cross the potential difference.  The potential difference must be 0.08 volts or less.

There are many quantities which are important in analyzing this situation: the amount of energy a photon has before entering the metal (E), the work function (W), the voltage that electrons have to jump (V), and the amount of energy an electron has upon exiting the metal, K.  It should be obvious that

K = hf – W,

since the amount of energy an electron has upon exiting the metal is just the amount of energy a photon has upon entering the metal minus the cost of liberating an electron.  Additionally, for an electron (with charge e) to jump the gap, it must be true that

hf – W ≥ eV

so that an electron has enough kinetic energy to overcome the potential difference.  If the electron barely makes it, this inequality is an equality and

hf – W = eV.

The V at which this happens (for a given f and W) is called the stopping potential V_o.

It’s interesting to graph stopping potential V_o vs. energy of incoming photons E.  You get something like this:

Notice that the cutoff value of E is 2.1 eV, which is W.  At or below this value there need not be any potential difference at all, since no electron will be liberated.  That is, when V = V_o = 0,  then E = hf= W.

I hope you find this analogy useful.  As for me, I need to go to the store: all this talk of potato chips has made me hungry.