electrons are emitted from a conductor when the conductor is?

heated? I can think of a lot of words that would go here. You really haven't given us much to go on. From the context of your question and how it relates to what you are studying, give us some choices if you don't think heated is a good choice. And it may not be.

You are correct, the emission of electrons from a conductor can occur due to various factors. The specific term you are looking for is called thermionic emission. Thermionic emission refers to the release of electrons from the surface of a heated conductor.

When a conductor is heated to a sufficiently high temperature, the thermal energy causes the electrons in the atoms of the conductor to gain enough energy to escape their bound state and become free electrons. These free electrons are then emitted from the surface of the conductor.

However, it's important to note that there are other processes through which electrons can be emitted from a conductor, such as field emission and photoelectric emission. Field emission occurs when a strong electric field is applied to the conductor, causing electrons to tunnel through the potential barrier and escape. Photoelectric emission occurs when photons from electromagnetic radiation, such as light, hit the surface of the conductor and transfer enough energy to the electrons, causing them to be ejected.

So, to answer your question, electrons can be emitted from a conductor when it is heated (via thermionic emission), when a strong electric field is applied (via field emission), or when photons interact with the conductor's surface (via photoelectric emission).