10/9/2014 Anode

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Anode

An anode is an electrode related

through which electric documents
current flows into a
polarized electrical Proton
device. Mnemonic: ACID
Electron energy
(Anode Current Into
loss spectroscopy
Device).
Diatomic molecule
A widespread
misconception is that Nernst equation
anode polarity is always Cathode
related topics positive (+). This is often
incorrectly inferred from Ferroelectricity
{math, energy, light} the correct fact that in all Graham's law
electrochemical devices
{acid, form, water} negatively charged High-temperature
anions move towards the superconductivity
{system, computer, user}
anode (hence their name) Alpha particle
{line, north, south} and/or positively charged
{ship, engine, design} cations move away from Small-angle
it. In fact anode polarity neutron scattering
{@card@, make, design} depends on the device Thermal insulation
{style, bgcolor, rowspan} type, and sometimes
even in which mode it Electron
operates, as per the microscope
above electric current
Anisotropy
direction-based universal
definition. Consequently, Electromagnetic
as can be seen from the spectroscopy
following examples, in a
Ultraviolet-visible
device which consumes
spectroscopy
power the anode is
positive, and in a device Arrhenius
which provides power equation
the anode is negative:
Cavitation
In a discharging
battery or galvanic Fluorescence
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cell (diagram at Biophoton

right) the anode is
Volumetric heat
the negative
capacity
terminal since that
is where the Triple-alpha
current flows into process
the device (see
drawing). This Density
inward current is Resistivity
carried externally
by electrons Molecular orbital
moving outwards, Mercury-in-glass
negative charge thermometer
moving one way
constituting Beta decay
positive current Proton-proton
flowing the other chain reaction
way. It is continued
internally by Van de Graaff
positive ions generator
flowing into the Relative static
electrolyte from permittivity
the anode, i.e.,
away (surprisingly) Particle radiation
from the more
negative electrode
and towards the
more positive one
(chemical energy is
responsible for this
"uphill" motion).
In a recharging
battery, or an
electrolytic cell, the
anode is the
positive terminal,
which receives
current from an
external generator.
The current
through a
recharging battery
is opposite to the
direction of current
during discharge; In
other words, the
electrode which
was the cathode
during battery

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discharge becomes
the anode while
the battery is
recharging.
In a diode, it is the
positive terminal at
the tail of the
arrow symbol,
where current
flows into the
device. Note
electrode naming
for diodes is always
based on the
direction of the
forward current
(that of the arrow,
in which the
current flows
"most easily"),
even for types such
as zener diodes or
solar cells where
the current of
interest is the
reverse current.
In a cathode ray
tube, it is the
positive terminal
where electrons
flow out of the
device, i.e., where
positive electric
current flows in.

An electrode through
which current flows the
other way (out of the
device) is termed a
cathode.
Contents
1 Etymology
2 Flow of electrons
3 Electrolytic anode
4 Battery or
galvanic cell anode
5 Vacuum tube
anode
6 Diode anode
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7 Sacrificial anode
8 Related antonym
9 See also
10 References
11 External links

Etymology

The word was coined in

1834 from the Greek
ἄνοδος (anodos),
'ascent', by William
Whewell, who had been
consulted[1] by Michael
Faraday over some new
names needed to
complete a paper on the
recently discovered
process of electrolysis. In
that paper Faraday
explained that when an
electrolytic cell is
oriented so that electric
current traverses the
"decomposing body"
(electrolyte) in a direction
"from East to West, or,
which will strengthen this
help to the memory, that
in which the sun appears
to move", the anode is
where the current enters
the electrolyte, on the
East side: "ano upwards,
odos a way ; the way
which the sun rises" ([2],
reprinted in [3]).

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