Electrolytic cell reaction which would not occur spontaneously otherwise. A galvanic cell can be considered an electrolytic cell acting in reverse. While electrolytic cells convert electrical energy into chemical energy, galvanic cells convert chemical energy into electrical energy. Galvanic cells are often used in batteries. Michael Faraday defined the cathode of a cell as the electrode to which cations (positively charged ions, like silver ions Ag) flow within the cell, to be reduced by reacting with electrons (negatively charged) from that electrode. Likewise he defined the anode as the electrode to which anions (negatively charged ions, like chloride ions Cl) flow within
Electrode potential that only the magnitude expressed according to the convention (2) be called "the electrode potential". To avoid possible ambiguities, the electrode potential thus defined can also be referred to as "Gibbs–Stockholm electrode potential". In both conventions, the standard hydrogen electrode is defined to have a potential of 0 V. Both conventions also agree on the sign of "E" for a half-cell reaction when it is written as a reduction. The main difference between the two conventions is that upon reversing the direction of a half-cell reaction "as written", according to convention (1) the sign of "E" also switches, whereas in