Question

In an experiment on photoelectric effect, a photon is incident on an electron from one direction and the photoelectron is emitted almost in the opposite direction. Does this violate the principle of conservation of momentum?

Answer 1

The principle of conservation of momentum is not violated by the principle of momentum’s conservation. The momentum and the energy is conserved in the electron-photon collision.

EXPLANATION:

• According to the mechanics of Newton, the translational momentum, linear momentum, or simply momentum is the product of an object’s velocity and mass. It possesses a direction and a magnitude.  

• In this experiment, when an electron is hit by a photon from one direction, the photoelectrons are emitted from the opposite directions.