Practical manual
Determination of Planck’s constant using LEDs
Aim: Determination of Planck’s constant.
1. Apparatus:
0-10 V power supply, a one way key, a rheostat, a digital milliammeter, a digital voltmeter, a
1 K resistor and different known wavelength LED’s (Light-Emitting Diodes).
2. Materials:
• Four LEDs emitting coloured light – one each of red, orange, green and blue. Choose LEDs
with a clear, colorless casing surrounding the LED, so that the color of the light comes from the
device itself, not from the coloured casing.
• 9 V batteries.
• Two multimeters (one to be used as a voltmeter and the other as an ammeter).
• 1 kΩ potentiometer or rheostat.
3. Procedure:
1. Connect the ammeter in series with the LED to measure the current through it, and connect the
voltmeter in parallel to the
LED color Typical wavelength, λ (nm)
LED to measure the voltage across
it. The applied voltage can be
Red 620
changed by using the potentiometer
or rheostat.
2. Change the voltage in steps of Yellow 570
0.05 V from 0 V to 3 V, and
measure the resulting electrical
current. Note that when the current Blue 460
flowing through the LED is small,
the LED might not light up, but the
ammeter can still measure the violet 400
current. To protect the LED, take
care to keep the current below 5
mA.
3. For each LED, plot a graph of current against voltage. On each graph, find the straight line of
‘best fit’ to join up the points that slope up from the x-axis. If the points lie close to the line,
this shows that a linear relationship holds between the applied voltage and the current in this
region of the graph
4. Finally, determine the activation voltage (Va) from the collected data. This is the point at which
the current begins to increase linearly with voltage. It can be read off the graph by extrapolating
the straight line representing the linear response region backwards until it intercepts the x-axis.
Students can do this visually using a ruler, or mathematically by applying linear regression to
the experimental data points in the linear region.
VIT University Bhopal. SAS, Physics Division Page 1
STUDENT NAME -SIDDHANT SINGH BISHT
REGISTRATION NO. - 22BCE10779
GROUP NUMBER - GROUP – 5
CLASS SLOT - A21 + A22 + A23
Practical manual
5.1. Observation table
(i) Color: Red
Sr No Voltage (volt) Current (Micro ampere)
1. 1.2 0.0
2. 1.4 0.1
3. 1.6 9.5
4. 1.7 48.8
Y-axis
12
10
0
1.35 1.4 1.45 1.5 1.55 1.6 1.65
(ii) Color: Yellow
Sr No Voltage (volt) Current (Micro ampere)
1. 1.0 0.0
2. 1.2 0.0
3. 1.4 0.1
4. 1.6 3.1
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STUDENT NAME -SIDDHANT SINGH BISHT
REGISTRATION NO. - 22BCE10779
GROUP NUMBER - GROUP – 5
CLASS SLOT - A21 + A22 + A23
Practical manual
(iii) Color: Blue
Sr No Voltage (volt) Current (Micro ampere)
1. 2.0 0.1
2. 2.4 0.2
3. 2.6 2.5
4. 2.8 36.2
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STUDENT NAME -SIDDHANT SINGH BISHT
REGISTRATION NO. - 22BCE10779
GROUP NUMBER - GROUP – 5
CLASS SLOT - A21 + A22 + A23
Practical manual
(iv) Color: Violet
Sr No Voltage (volt) Current (Micro ampere)
1. 2.2 0.1
2. 2.4 0.2
3. 2.6 2.5
4. 2.8 36.2
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REGISTRATION NO. - 22BCE10779
GROUP NUMBER - GROUP – 5
CLASS SLOT - A21 + A22 + A23
Practical manual
5.2. LED activation voltage and wavelength:
Sr No Color Activation Wavelength
(Nanometer)
1/ (nm)
voltage (Volt)
1. Red 1.5 620 0.001612
2. Yellow 1.45 570 0.001754
3. Blue 2.25 460 0.002173
4. Violet 2.55 400 0.0025
5.2.1. Plot a graph between 1/ vs activation voltage.
Activation
1/ (pm)
voltage
(Volt)
1.61 1.5
1.75 1.45
2.17 2.25
2.5 2.55
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STUDENT NAME -SIDDHANT SINGH BISHT
REGISTRATION NO. - 22BCE10779
GROUP NUMBER - GROUP – 5
CLASS SLOT - A21 + A22 + A23
Practical manual
5.2.2. Find the slope
m(red) = hc/ = (6.62*10^-34*3*10^8)/ (620*10^-9)
= (0.3203*10^-18)
= (3.203) *10^-19
m(yellow) = hc/ = (6.62*10^-34*3*10^8)/ (570*10^-9)
= (0.3484*10^-18)
= (3.484*10^-19)
m(blue) = hc/ = (6.62*10^-34*3*10^8)/ (460*10^-9)
= (0. 4317*10^-18)
= (4.317*10^-19)
m(violet) = hc/ = (6.62*10^-34*3*10^8)/ (400*10^-9)
= (0.4965*10^-18)
= (4.945*10^-19)
6.Calculation:
h(red) = m/c = (620*10^-9*3.2*10^-19)/ (3*10^8)
= (6.61*10^-34) Js
h(yellow) = m/c = (620*10^-9*3.48*10^-19)/ (3*10^8)
= (7.19*10^-34) Js
h(blue) = m/c = (620*10^-9*4.31*10^-19)/ (3*10^8)
= (8.90*10^-34) Js
h(violet) = m/c = (620*10^-9*4.94*10^-19)/ (3*10^8)
= (10.20*10^-34) Js
7.Results:
V a (red) = hc/e = (6.62*10^-34*3*10^8)/(1.6*10^-19*620*10^-9)
= (1.986*10^-25)/(9.92*10^-26)
= 2.002
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STUDENT NAME -SIDDHANT SINGH BISHT
REGISTRATION NO. - 22BCE10779
GROUP NUMBER - GROUP – 5
CLASS SLOT - A21 + A22 + A23
Practical manual
V a (yellow) = hc/e = (6.62*10^-34*3*10^8)/(1.6*10^-19*570*10^-9)
= (1.986*10^-25)/(9.12*10^-26)
= 2.17
V a (blue) = hc/e = (6.62*10^-34*3*10^8)/(1.6*10^-19*460*10^-9)
= (1.986*10^-25)/(7.36*10^-26)
= 2.69
V a (violet) = hc/e = (6.62*10^-34*3*10^8)/(1.6*10^-19*400*10^-9)
= (1.986*10^-25)/(6.4*10^-26)
= 3.10
8.Error: horiginal − hcalculated
100%
horiginal
Error % (red) = [ [(6.62-6.61) * 10-34]/6.62*10-34] *100
= 0.15%
Error % (yellow) = [ [(6.62-6.61) * 10-34]/7.02*10-34] *100
= 6.04%
Error % (blue) = [ [(6.62-6.61) * 10-34]/8.09*10-34] *100
= 34.44%
Error % (violet) = [ [(6.62-6.61) * 10-34]/6.62*10-34] *100
= 52.56%
9.Conclusion:
1- Different colors have different wavelength.
2- High wavelength colors have less activation energy.
3- Red has highest wavelength so its I Vs V slope is smallest.
4- Energy is inversely proportional to wavelength.
5- Activation energy is inversely proportional to wavelength.
10.Precaution
1- Make sure to keep a close watch on LEDs for activation voltage.
2- Take the current voltage reading correctly.
3- Take proper precautions while using electrical equipment
4- Don’t let too much current pass-through the LEDs otherwise it will be damaged.
5- Switch of the electrical equipment after work.
VIT University Bhopal. SAS, Physics Division Page 7
STUDENT NAME -SIDDHANT SINGH BISHT
REGISTRATION NO. - 22BCE10779
GROUP NUMBER - GROUP – 5
CLASS SLOT - A21 + A22 + A23
