Electrode electrode. In a vacuum tube or a semiconductor having polarity (diodes, electrolytic capacitors) the anode is the positive (+) electrode and the cathode the negative (−). The electrons enter the device through the cathode and exit the device through the anode. Many devices have other electrodes to control operation, e.g., base, gate, control grid. In a three-electrode cell, a counter electrode, also called an auxiliary electrode, is used only to make a connection to the electrolyte so that a current can be applied to the working electrode. The counter electrode is usually made of an inert material, such as a
Polarograph Polarograph A Polarograph is a chemical analysis instrument used to record automatic voltage-intensity curves. The Polarograph uses an electrolytic cell consisting of an electrode or microelectrode small area, generally of mercury drop type , which is a very fine capillary tube through which mercury flows slowly , which comes in the form of small droplets, which fall on the same surface of a much broader element, which is the other electrode . When one applies a variable voltage in this cell, the electrode large area remains unchanged, while the microelectrode undergoes a change of potential ,( i.e. is polarized). It