The photoelectric effect is considered as a resonant response of atomic electrons . The periodic nature of the electron is established by the work of Louis de Broglie unifying optical and dynamical path integrals. Finally. the atomic electron response to electromagnetic radiation is modeled using the solution of the damped oscillator. This concept is extended to nuclear phenomena by considering decay rates of alpha emitting nuclides. The implications for determinations of the age of the earth are then discussed.
