electrolytic cell

electrolytic cell

n.

1. A cell containing an electrolyte through which an externally generated electric current is passed by a system of electrodes in order to produce an electrochemical reaction.

2. A cell containing an electrolyte in which an electrochemical reaction produces an electromotive force.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

electrolytic cell

n

(Chemistry) any device in which electrolysis occurs. Sometimes shortened to: cell

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

cell

(sɛl)

n.

1. a small room, as in a convent or prison.

2. any of various small compartments or bounded areas forming part of a whole.

3. a usu. microscopic structure containing nuclear and cytoplasmic material enclosed by a semipermeable membrane and, in plants, a cell wall; the basic structural unit of all organisms.

4. a small group acting as a unit within a larger organization: a local cell of a political party.

5. a device that converts chemical energy into electricity, usu. consisting of two different kinds of conductors surrounded by an electrolyte; battery.

6. Also called electrolytic cell. a device for producing electrolysis, consisting essentially of the electrolyte, its container, and the electrodes.

7. a monastery or nunnery, dependent on a larger religious house.

8. one of the areas into which the wing of an insect is divided by the veins.

9. locule.

10. one of the separate areas covered by a radio transmitter in a cellular phone system.

[before 1150; Middle English celle (< Old French), Old English cell < Medieval Latin cella monastic cell, Latin: room; see cella]

Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

e·lec·tro·lyt·ic cell

(ĭ-lĕk′trə-lĭt′ĭk)

A device containing two electrodes immersed in a solution of electrolytes, used to bring about a chemical reaction. Electrolytic cells require an outside source of electricity to initiate the movement of ions between the two electrodes where the chemical change takes place. They have many practical uses including the recovery of pure metal from alloys, and the plating of one metal with another. Compare voltaic cell.

The American Heritage® Student Science Dictionary, Second Edition. Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

electrolytic cell - a cell containing an electrolyte in which an applied voltage causes a reaction to occur that would not occur otherwise (such as the breakdown of water into hydrogen and oxygen) anode - a positively charged electrode by which electrons leave an electrical device cathode - a negatively charged electrode that is the source of electrons entering an electrical device electric cell, cell - a device that delivers an electric current as the result of a chemical reaction electrode - a conductor used to make electrical contact with some part of a circuit galvanic cell, primary cell, voltaic cell - an electric cell that generates an electromotive force by an irreversible conversion of chemical to electrical energy; cannot be recharged

Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.