Anode current flows into "the device" (i.e. the battery cell). This inward current is carried externally by electrons moving outwards, negative charge flowing in one direction being electrically equivalent to positive charge flowing in the opposite direction. 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 discharge becomes the anode while the battery is recharging. In a diode, the anode is the positive
Absolute electrode potential been defined as the entropy of the absolute half-cell process defined above. An alternative definition of the absolute half-cell entropy has recently been published by Fang et al. who define it as the entropy of the following reaction (using the hydrogen electrode as an example): This approach differs from the approach described by Rockwood in the treatment of the electron, i.e. whether it is placed in the gas phase or in the metal. The basis for determination of the absolute electrode potential under the Trasatti definition is given by the equation: where: For practical purposes, the value of the absolute