suppose that a block of matter is irradiated by a beam of x or gamma-rays. some of the photon will interact with inner, strongly bound orbital electrons in the atoms of the block matter, and in so doing, may dislodge the electrons, provided the photons have energy at least equal to that associated with the particular electronic energy level. For example, if an incident photons encounters an electron in the K-shell, as depicted in figure 232, and the hv of this photons is at least equal to the K-shell, the electron can be dislodged. if the photon's energy is greater than this minimal amount, the additional energy will be imparted to the electron in the form of kinetic energy and electron will fly out of the atom. such an interaction in which all of energy of the photons is used up in (1) dislodging the electron and (2) giving it kinetic energy, is called the photoelectric process.