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
Electrochemical cell more positive oxidation state the more potential this reaction will provide. Likewise, in the reduction reaction, the closer the equilibrium lies to the ion/atom with the more "negative" oxidation state the higher the potential. The cell potential can be predicted through the use of electrode potentials (the voltages of each half-cell). These half-cell potentials are defined relative to the assignment of 0 volts to the standard hydrogen electrode (SHE). (See table of standard electrode potentials). The difference in voltage between electrode potentials gives a prediction for the potential measured. When calculating the difference in voltage, one must first rewrite the