Dear Brianna, In order for corrosion to work, a complete circuit has to exist. This is usually composed of a part where ions move through a liquid and a part where electrons move through the metal. If any part of this circuit is broken, corrosion cannot occur.
Sacrificial anodes work because the two different metals complete the circuit through the shared liquid and the sacrificial anode corrodes preferentially. It might be possible to use a sacrificial anode to protect parts of an outdoor sculpture where water pools, but an extra piece of metal attached to the base cannot protect the head of an outdoor sculpture. Depending on what kind of steel the table part of your sculpture is made of, it is likely that the table will be less noble than both bronze and silver and will therefore corrode preferentially. Is it possible to insert a thin layer of non-conductive barrier material between the head and the table? Best regards, Michelle Michelle Taube, Ph.D. National Museum of Denmark ****** Unsubscribe by sending a message to consdistlist-le...@cool.conservation-us.org Searchable archives: http://cool.conservation-us.org/byform/mailing-lists/cdl/
