Spencer Heath Archive

Item 688

Pencil by Heath on a lined, small spiral notebook page, New York City.

October 15, 1955

Atom of (say) sodium is excited. Gives off energy — work? — in waves having a certain frequency f, and a certain energy — or energy rate? — and a certain velocity v (or c) of propagation.

Some certain number of these waves — a packet or train — are required to effect a physical result, such as driving out an electron from a metal surface.