Equation 22-25 leads us to predict that light of any frequency should be able to liberate an electron from the surface of a material, provided the light wave is sufficiently intense. Experiment shows that this is not the case. For example, if the biological sample shown in Figure 26-2 is illuminated with red light, no electrons are ejected no matter how intense the light. But if instead we illuminate the sample with X rays, which have a higher frequency than red light, electrons are ejected. (Figure 26-2b was made by using X rays.) This is impossible to understand on the basis of Maxwell’s equations.