On Jun 8, 2007, at 10:58 AM, Michel Jullian wrote:
That's what I said:
"...some ambiguities slipped in:
...
"current is said to flow from the cathode to the anode" without
saying they talk about external current (internal current goes the
other way)."
Yes, you're right. I should have said: "I agree, EB got it
backwards, or at least incomplete or misleading. The conventional
current flows from the anode to the cathode in the electrolyte."
They might have said: "For historical reasons, electric current is
defined to flow in the direction positive charge carriers move or
would move, if present, to carry the current in a circuit. Thus,
current is said to flow from the anode to the cathode through the
electrolytic cell, and from the cathode to the anode in the part of
the circuit which is external to the electrolytic cell. The current
flow directions are reversed when an electrolytic cell acts as a
battery."
Regards,
Horace Heffner
