ABSTRACT
The photoelectron effect had its birth in controversy. Discovered by Heinrich Hertz in 1887 as part of his monumental attempt to experimentally verify the implications of Maxwell’s relations, the production of photoelectrons did the opposite, demonstrating that the theory of radiation was incomplete. The theoretical explanation of the photoelectron effect awaited “the dawn of a new light” as Hoffmann has described the year 1905, and the contributions therein by Albert Einstein. The lack of availability of a continuous, high vacuum capability, the inability to control stray interfering fields, and the unrealized need for integrated, stable electronics caused most scientists of the 1930s and 1940s to ignore the prospect of a “useful” photoelectron spectroscopy. The nearly 1000 electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis units in operation throughout the world is obvious testimony to the viable utility of the spectroscopy as the premier method for chemical analyses of surfaces.
