Einstein proposed the theory of the photoelectric effect in 1905. With the light quantum hypothesis and energy conservation formula, he successfully explained the experimental laws of the photoelectric effect, which promoted the development of quantum physics. His historical pioneering contribution is beyond doubt. However, limited by the theoretical knowledge of his era, Einstein introduced the concept of photon dynamic mass and constructed a physical model of "electrons being ejected by the impact of photon dynamic mass", which became the core logic of his interpretation of the photoelectric effect. With the development of modern physics, the concept of dynamic mass has been falsified and abandoned by mainstream physics. Photons only possess energy and momentum, have no rest mass and no real dynamic mass, which fundamentally negates the theoretical basis of the "photon-electron impact". Based on the falsification of the dynamic mass theory, this paper re-derives the real physical mechanism of the photoelectric effect, clarifying that the photoelectric effect is not photon impact ejecting electrons, but photons completely transferring energy to extranuclear electrons. Electrons obtain energy, undergo energy level transition, break away from the Coulomb constraint of atomic nuclei to escape, and the missing positions after electron escape are automatically replenished by free electrons in the system to maintain electrical neutrality. This paper not only retains Einstein’s correct energy conservation formula, but also corrects the error of its microscopic interaction mechanism, realizing the improvement and unification of the photoelectric effect theory.
Jiaqing Yan (Sat,) studied this question.