Abstract. This paper reports a new effect arising in conductors under the action of optical radiation falling on the conductor surface and bringing about a redistribution of the surface changes in the conductor and changing the corresponding double-layer potential. A theory for a surface photon-charge effect is developed and the corresponding change in the electrostatic potential near the conductors surface is shown to be proportional to the intensity at low values of the radiation intensity and to the root of the intensity at high values. The magnitude of the effect is also shown to be sensitive to the surface properties. Agreement between the experimental results, the experiment and the main conclusions of the theory was found to be qualitatively good.

Full-text: PDF