Hi, I am a bit confused about electrodes. When given a galvanic cell, the electrode where the reduction is occuring is the cathode and the electrode is positive (+). Wheb given a electrolytic cell, the electrode where the reduction is occuring is the cathode and the electrode is negative (-). I know it is by convention, but really, what is the logic behind this? what am I missing? Thank you all for a great forum.
An electrode is an electrical conductor used to make contact with a nonmetallic part of a circuit (e.g. a semiconductor, an electrolyte or a vacuum). The word was coined by the scientist Michael Faraday from the Greek words elektron (meaning amber, from which the word electricity is derived) and hodos, a way. An electrode in an electrochemical cell is referred to as either an anode or a cathode (words that were also coined by Faraday). The anode is now defined as the electrode at which electrons leave the cell and oxidation occurs, and the cathode as the electrode at which electrons enter the cell and reduction occurs. Each electrode may become either the anode or the cathode depending on the direction of current through the cell. A bipolar electrode is an electrode that functions as the anode of one cell and the cathode of another cell. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrode
