Cell, Electrochemical

Electrochemical cells are devices for turning chemical energy into electrical energy or, alternatively, changing electrical energy into chemical energy. The first type of cell is known as a voltaic, or galvanic, cell, while the second type is an electrolytic cell. The voltaic cell with which you are probably most familiar is the battery. Batteries consist of one or more cells connected to each other. Electrolytic cells are less common in everyday life, although they are important in many industrial operations, as in the electroplating of metals.

History

Cells that obtain electrical energy from chemical reactions were discovered more than two centuries ago. Italian anatomist Luigi Galvani...

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