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Anode
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{{short description|Electrode through which conventional current flows into a polarized electrical device}} {{Use dmy dates|date=January 2025}} [[File:Zinc anode 2.svg|thumb|Diagram of a [[zinc]] anode in a [[galvanic cell]]. Note how electrons move out of the cell, and the [[conventional current]] moves into it in the opposite direction.]] An '''anode''' usually is an [[electrode]] of a polarized electrical device through which [[conventional current]] enters the device. This contrasts with a [[cathode]], which is usually an electrode of the device through which conventional current leaves the device. A common [[mnemonic]] is ACID, for "anode current into device".<ref>{{cite web |last=Denker |first=John |date=2004 |url=http://www.av8n.com/physics/anode-cathode.htm#sec-def |title=How to Define Anode and Cathode |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060328234449/http://www.av8n.com/physics/anode-cathode.htm |archive-date=28 March 2006 |website=av8n.com}}</ref> The direction of conventional current (the flow of positive charges) in a circuit is opposite to the direction of [[electron]] flow, so (negatively charged) electrons flow from the anode of a [[galvanic cell]], into an outside or external circuit connected to the cell. For example, the end of a household battery marked with a "+" is the cathode (while discharging). In both a [[galvanic cell]] and an [[electrolytic cell]], the anode is the [[electrode]] at which the [[oxidation reaction]] occurs. In a [[galvanic cell]] the anode is the wire or plate having excess negative charge as a result of the oxidation reaction. In an [[electrolytic cell]], the '''anode''' is the wire or plate upon which excess positive charge is imposed.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Chemistry |last1=Pauling |first1=Linus |date=1975 |publisher=W. H. Freeman |last2=Pauling |first2=Peter |isbn=978-0716701767 |location=San Francisco |oclc=1307272 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/chemistry00paulrich }}</ref> As a result of this, anions will tend to move towards the anode where they will undergo oxidation. Historically, the anode of a galvanic cell was also known as the '''zincode''' because it was usually composed of zinc.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Zincode definition and meaning {{!}} Collins English Dictionary|url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/zincode|access-date=2021-06-11|website=collinsdictionary.com|language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="Ross 1961">{{cite journal|author=Ross, S|title=Faraday Consults the Scholars: The Origins of the Terms of Electrochemistry|journal=Notes and Records of the Royal Society of London|volume= 16|issue= 2|year= 1961|pages= 187β220|doi=10.1098/rsnr.1961.0038|s2cid=145600326}}</ref>{{rp|pg. 209, 214}}
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