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Information about Electrodes

An electrode is an electrical conductor used to make contact with a nonmetallic part of a circuit (e.g. a semiconductor, an electrolyte or a vacuum). The word was coined by the scientist Michael Faraday from the Greek words elektron (meaning amber, from which the word electricity is derived) and hodos, a way.[1]

Anode and cathode in electrochemical cells

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Scheme of a discharging galvanic cell
An electrode in an electrochemical cell is referred to as either an anode or a cathode, words that were also coined by Faraday. The anode is now defined as the electrode at which electrons leave the cell and oxidation occurs, and the cathode as the electrode at which electrons enter the cell and reduction occurs. Each electrode may become either the anode or the cathode depending on the voltage applied to the cell. A bipolar electrode is an electrode that functions as the anode of one cell and the cathode of another cell.

Primary cell

A primary cell is special type of electrochemical cell in which the reaction cannot be reversed, and the identities of the anode and cathode are therefore fixed. The anode is always the negative electrode. The cell can be discharged but not recharged.

Secondary cell

The case in an electrolytic cell. When the cell is being discharged, it behaves like a primary or voltaic cell, with the anode as the negative electrode and the cathode as the positive.

Other anodes and cathodes

In a vacuum tube or a semiconductor having polarity (diodes, electrolytic capacitors) the anode is the positive (+) electrode and the cathode the negative (−). The electrons enter the device through the cathode and exit the device through the anode.

In a three-electrode cell, a counter electrode, also called an auxiliary electrode, is used only to make a connection to the electrolyte so that a current can be applied to the working electrode. The counter electrode is usually made of an inert material, such as a noble metal or graphite, to keep it from dissolving.

Welding electrodes

In arc welding an electrode is used to conduct current through a workpiece to fuse two pieces together. Depending upon the process, the electrode is either consumable, in the case of gas metal arc welding or shielded metal arc welding, or non-consumable, such as in gas tungsten arc welding. For a direct current system the weld rod or stick may be a cathode for a filling type weld or an anode for other welding processes. For an alternating current arc welder the welding electrode would not be considered an anode or cathode. To learn more about tungsten electrodes and their preparation, visit [1] for free guides.

Alternating current electrodes

For electrical systems which use alternating current the electrodes are the connections from the circuitry to the object to be acted upon by the electrical current but are not designated anode or cathode since the direction of flow of the electrons changes periodically, usually many times per second.

Uses of electrodes

See also

References

1. ^ Michael Faraday, "On Electrical Decomposition", Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, 1834 (in which Faraday coins the words electrode, anode, cathode, anion, cation, electrolyte, electrolyze).
In science and engineering, conductors, such as copper or aluminum, are materials with atoms have loosely held valence electrons. See electrical conduction.

Conductors in context


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An electronic circuit is an electrical circuit that also contains active electronic devices such as transistors or vacuum tubes. They can display highly complex behaviors, even though they are governed by the same laws as simple electrical circuits.
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A semiconductor is a solid that has electrical conductivity in between that of a conductor and that of an insulator, and can be controlled over a wide range, either permanently or dynamically.[1] Semiconductors are tremendously important in technology.
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An electrolyte is a substance containing free ions that behaves as an electrically conductive medium. Because they generally consist of ions in solution, electrolytes are also known as ionic solutions, but molten electrolytes and solid electrolytes are also possible.
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A vacuum is a volume of space that is essentially empty of matter, such that its gaseous pressure is much less than standard atmospheric pressure. The Latin term in vacuo is used to describe an object as being in what would otherwise be a vacuum.
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Michael Faraday

Michael Faraday, portrait by Thomas Phillips c1841-1842[2]
Born September 22 1791(1791--)
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Greek}}} 
Writing system: Greek alphabet 
Official status
Official language of:  Greece
 Cyprus
 European Union
recognised as minority language in parts of:
 European Union
 Italy
 Turkey
Regulated by:
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Electricity (from New Latin ēlectricus, "amberlike") is a general term for a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. This includes many well-known physical phenomena such as lightning, electromagnetic fields and electric currents,
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electrochemical cell is a device used for creating an electromotive force (voltage) and current from chemical reactions. The current is caused by the reactions releasing and accepting electrons at the different ends of a conductor.
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An anode is an electrode through which (positive) electric current flows into a polarized electrical device. Mnemonic: ACE (Anode Current Enters).
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A cathode is an electrode through which (positive) electric current flows out of a polarized electrical device. Mnemonic: CCD (Cathode Current Departs). To dispel a common misconception, often incorrectly inferred from the correct fact that in all electrochemical
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Redox (shorthand for reduction/oxidation reaction) describes all chemical reactions in which atoms have their oxidation number (oxidation state) changed.

This can be either a simple redox process such as the oxidation of carbon to yield carbon dioxide, or the
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Redox (shorthand for reduction/oxidation reaction) describes all chemical reactions in which atoms have their oxidation number (oxidation state) changed.

This can be either a simple redox process such as the oxidation of carbon to yield carbon dioxide, or the
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A primary cell is any kind of electrochemical cell in which the electrochemical reaction of interest is not reversible, so used in disposable batteries. The most common primary cells today are found in alkaline batteries; earlier carbon-zinc cells, with a carbon post as cathode and
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Electrolytic cells are composed of a vessel used to do electrolysis, containing electrolyte, usually a solution of water or other solvents capable of dissolving various ions into solution, and a cathode and anode.
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Voltaic cell can denote: Voltaic cell, it was invented by an Italian physicist named Alessandro Volta. It consists of electrodes and one electrolyte. The electrodes are the metals---zinc, which serves as the negative electrode or anode; and copper, which serves as the positive
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vacuum tube, electron tube (inside North America), thermionic valve, or just valve (elsewhere); is a device used to amplify, switch, otherwise modify, or create an electrical signal by controlling the movement of electrons in a low-pressure space, often not
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A semiconductor is a solid that has electrical conductivity in between that of a conductor and that of an insulator, and can be controlled over a wide range, either permanently or dynamically.[1] Semiconductors are tremendously important in technology.
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diode is a component that restricts the directional flow of charge carriers. Essentially, a diode allows an electric current to flow in one direction, but blocks it in the opposite direction. Thus, the diode can be thought of as an electronic version of a check valve.
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An electrolyte is a substance containing free ions that behaves as an electrically conductive medium. Because they generally consist of ions in solution, electrolytes are also known as ionic solutions, but molten electrolytes and solid electrolytes are also possible.
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Noble metals are metals that are resistant to corrosion or oxidation, unlike most base metals. They tend to be precious metals, often due to perceived rarity. Examples include gold, silver, tantalum, platinum, palladium and rhodium.
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Graphite (named by Abraham Gottlob Werner in 1789 from the Greek γραφειν (graphein): "to draw/write", for its use in pencils) is one of the allotropes of carbon.
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Arc welding uses a welding power supply to create an electric arc between an electrode and the base material to melt the metals at the welding point. They can use either direct (DC) or alternating (AC) current, and consumable or non-consumable electrodes.
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Gas metal arc welding (GMAW), sometimes referred to by its subtypes metal inert gas (MIG) welding or metal active gas (MAG) welding, is a semi-automatic or automatic arc welding process in which a continuous and consumable wire electrode and a shielding gas are fed
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Shielded metal arc welding (SMAW), also known as manual metal arc (MMA) welding or informally as stick welding, is a manual arc welding process that uses a consumable electrode coated in flux to lay the weld.
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Gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW), also known as tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding, is an arc welding process that uses a nonconsumable tungsten electrode to produce the weld.
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alternating current (AC) is an electrical current whose magnitude and direction vary cyclically, as opposed to direct current, whose direction remains constant. The usual waveform of an AC power circuit is a sine wave, as this results in the most efficient transmission of
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alternating current (AC) is an electrical current whose magnitude and direction vary cyclically, as opposed to direct current, whose direction remains constant. The usual waveform of an AC power circuit is a sine wave, as this results in the most efficient transmission of
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hertz (symbol: Hz) is the SI unit of frequency. Its base unit is cycle/s or s-1 (also called inverse seconds, reciprocal seconds). In English, hertz is used as both singular and plural.
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