n an electrolytic cell electrical energy is consumed and an otherwise spontaneous redox reaction is reversed. A galvanic cell, on the other hand, produces electrical energy as a result of a spontaneou...n an electrolytic cell electrical energy is consumed and an otherwise spontaneous redox reaction is reversed. A galvanic cell, on the other hand, produces electrical energy as a result of a spontaneous redox process. The electron transfer characteristic of such a process is made to occur in two separate half-cells. Electrons released during an oxidation half-equation must flow through a wire or other external circuit before they can be accepted in a reduction half-equation.
Although the development practical batteries largely paralelled the expansion of electrical technology from about the mid-19th century on, it is now thought that a very primitive kind of battery was a...Although the development practical batteries largely paralelled the expansion of electrical technology from about the mid-19th century on, it is now thought that a very primitive kind of battery was apparently in use more than 2000 years ago. The brief popularity of electrically powered automobiles in the 1920's encouraged storage battery development. The widespread use of portable "personal" electrical devices has kept the search for better batteries very much alive.
