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17: Electrochemical Cells

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    49548
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    When an electrical current flows through matter, permanent chemical changes often occur. In some cases electrical energy supplied from an outside source can cause a chemical reaction to take place. Such a process is called electrolysis, and the system to which electricity is supplied is called an electrolytic cell. It is also possible to produce a flow of electricity as a result of a spontaneous chemical reaction. A chemical system which can cause a current to flow in this way is called a galvanic cell or a voltaic cell. Since an electrical current is a flow of electrons or other charged particles, it should come as no surprise that both electrolytic and galvanic cells involve redox reactions.


    This page titled 17: Electrochemical Cells is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Ed Vitz, John W. Moore, Justin Shorb, Xavier Prat-Resina, Tim Wendorff, & Adam Hahn.

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