Physical Transformation AtlasPTA
Pathway · p-06aa849dca · demonstrated

Vacuum photocell

Incident radiation fluxPhotoelectric effectCharge carriersElectrical work

Photons above the work function eject electrons to a collector across a vacuum gap.

Epistemic state of the route

known constituent relations
3 / 3 established or replicated · weakest constituent established
constituent maturity floor
K4 · experimentally observed
search for this exact route
A recorded pathway or a reviewed search records a demonstration of this composition.
recorded pathway
Vacuum photocell · demonstrated
composition maturity
K6 · working transducer
recorded-pathway overlap
this route is the recorded pathway Vacuum photocell
route-level evidence
1 source for the complete composition · 2 cited by the constituent steps
boundaries and interfaces
BOUNDARY compatible · no region transition

Explorematrix context · physics checks · performance · steps · route evidence · constituent evidence · cite

Matrix context

D = disequilibrium row · C = coupling family column. A cell reads the state of the atlas for that pair.

D.11 × C.02 · Incident radiation flux × Thermionicfamily: Thermionic

Measured or reported performance

Summary figures only; no datum-level record yet. Each figure below is a reviewed summary, not a single measurement.

notes
used as a detector for a century; as a power converter its efficiency is limited by the work-function threshold and space charge

Steps

  1. 01
    Incident radiation flux —drives→ Photoelectric effectestablishedclaim record
    radiative → electrical · loss to thermal
    • photon energy above the work function of the emitter; a vacuum gap to a collector
    vacuum required · illumination required
    refs [1]
  2. 02
    Photoelectric effect —produces→ Charge carriersestablishedclaim record
    electrical → electrical
    refs [1]
  3. 03
    Charge carriers —converts into→ Electrical workestablishedclaim record
    electrical → electrical · loss to thermal
    • carriers driven through an external load at the potential difference the source maintains
    refs [2]

Evidence for the complete composition · 1

  1. [1]
    C. Kittel. Introduction to Solid State Physics (8th ed.) (2005)
    Wiley · book, no DOI · record

Evidence for the constituent relations · 2

  1. [1]
    C. Kittel. Introduction to Solid State Physics (8th ed.) (2005)
    Wiley · book, no DOI · record
  2. [2]
    N. W. Ashcroft, N. D. Mermin. Solid State Physics (1976)
    Holt, Rinehart and Winston · book, no DOI · record

Cite this route

Physical Transformation Atlas (2026). route p-06aa849dca: Vacuum photocell. Dataset revision rbfbfcbb70e57 (hash of the canonical data). https://physical-transformation-atlas.wldud5192.workers.dev/path/06aa849dca

Ids and matrix addresses are stable across revisions; the revision hash identifies the exact canonical files the record was compiled from and is meta.data_hash in every /api export. Reuse terms: see the license field in any export.