What are electrodes and electrolytes?
An electrode is an electrical conductor connected to a nonmetallic part of a circuit. Electrodes are referred as either the anode or cathode in an electrochemical cell. The anode is the electrode where current leaves the cell and oxidation happens. On the other hand the cathode is where current enters the cell and reduction happens. An electrolyte is an aqueous type of substance that contains free moving ions. It is the presence of these free moving ions that makes the substance electrically conductive. Types of electrochemical cells There are two types of electrochemical cells, galvanic (voltaic) cell and electrolytic cell. Both cells contain electrodes on which oxidation and reduction happens. However, the cathode and anode are charged differently. In the galvanic (voltaic) cell, the anode is negatively charged and the cathode is positively. It is vice-versa for an electrolytic cell. Here, the anode is positively charged and the cathode is negatively charged. As such, due to the natu
