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)."
Michel ----- Original Message ----- From: "Horace Heffner" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Friday, June 08, 2007 7:29 PM Subject: Re: [Vo]:Britannica "electrolysis" concise article corrected > Slight improvement follows: > > On Jun 8, 2007, at 3:13 AM, Michel Jullian wrote: (EB wrote:) > > >> For historical reasons, electric current is defined to flow in the >> opposite direction to the flow of electrons. Thus, current is said >> to flow from the cathode to the anode, even though electrons flow >> in the opposite direction. >> > > > 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 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." > > Regards, > > Horace Heffner >
