Science Fair Project Encyclopedia
Electrolytic cell
Electrolytic cells are composed of an electrolyte (usually water or another solvent capable of dissolving various ions of interest), a cathode and an anode.
An Electrolytic cell is powered by electricity to produce a change in the chemicals in the cell, providing the energy to convert the chemicals into ones with higher energy storage. In contrast, a Galvanic Cell uses the chemical energy of the high-energy chemicals reacting to generate electricity - the opposite of the electrolytic cell.
To reflect this difference, the Anode and Cathode in the two types of cell have different polarities assigned to them - which can be very confusing!
See also: Electrolysis, Galvanic Cell
10-26-2009 08:16:03
The contents of this article is licensed from www.wikipedia.org under the GNU Free Documentation License. Click here to see the transparent copy and copyright details
The contents of this article is licensed from www.wikipedia.org under the GNU Free Documentation License. Click here to see the transparent copy and copyright details