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Quantum yield: the term and the symbol. A historical search

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Abstract

Einstein’s Photochemical Equivalence Law, i.e. one quantum of light absorbed per molecule, played a very important role in the development of photochemistry in the early part of the 20th century. The corresponding terminology, quantum yield and its symbol Φ, became accepted usage in a haphazard manner, which is presented in this paper.

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  1. Both authors contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Schulich Faculty of Chemistry, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel

    Mordecai B. Rubin

  2. Max-Planck-Institute for Bioinorganic Chemistry, Postfach 101365, 45413, Mülheim an der Ruhr, Germany

    Silvia E. Braslavsky

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  1. Mordecai B. Rubin
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Correspondence to Mordecai B. Rubin.

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Rubin, M.B., Braslavsky, S.E. Quantum yield: the term and the symbol. A historical search. Photochem Photobiol Sci 9, 670–674 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1039/b9pp00182d

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