Well, I continue to learn something new almost every day.  I would have it no 
other way

If you wish to keep a constant current and still observe impedance variations 
within the cell you could AC couple after the regulation into op amps.  Then 
into your sound card.  You could then listen to it or save the waveforms and 
look for some correlations.

I'm going to look into this.  Thanks for the info.

Best regards,
Arnold Beland
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Matthew McCann 
  To: [email protected] 
  Sent: Tuesday, November 23, 2004 11:41 AM
  Subject: CS>Is electrolysis noisy?


  Hello, Arnold,

  I replaced my current regulation circuit with a Thevenin
  element with the Thevenin resistance matching load
  resistance, with the idea of doing wheatstone bridge-type
  potentiometry later on. The rheostat proved so convenient
  to set the scale of the microammeter, I decided to
  stick with current limitation instead of current regulation.
  The latter may give more uniformity in particulate size,
  but who knows whether size uniformity is better or worse
  for product potency? Keeping the current low (<500 uA)
  keeps the size range low anyway.

  As you note, there is a trade-off. Current regulation makes
  a more uniform product. But current limitation makes
  transients measurable that may help elucidate processes
  occurring at the electrodes. I like the latter feature more
  because it is more of a research-grade circuit.
  There is a relatively new research method called
  Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (abbreviated
  EIS, by coincidence) that is used to investigate
  electrolytic phenomena, especially corrosion phenomena,
  based on frequency response ranging from 1 millihertz
  to 100 kilohertz, which includes audible tones.
  Sophisticated analysis of the noise-laden current leads
  to equivalent RLC circuits that reveal quite a bit about
  what's happening at and near the electrodes. Ordinary
  people cannot afford the specialized apparatus used
  for Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy, but the
  human ear is a marvelous instrument and maybe could
  detect a lot. Noisy signals can contain a large amount
  of useful information - a good example is "star static,"
  the nuisance RFI that became Radio Astronomy.

  Best regards,

  Matthew



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