- Wet cell
A wet cell is a galvanic
electrochemical cell with a liquidelectrolyte . Adry cell , on the other hand, is a cell with a pasty electrolyte. Wet cells were a precursor to dry cells and are commonly used as a learning tool forelectrochemistry . It is often built with common laboratory supplies, like beakers, for demonstrations of how electrochemical cells work. A particular type of wet cell known as aconcentration cell is important in understandingcorrosion . Wet cells may beprimary cell s (non-rechargeable) orsecondary cell s (rechargeable).History
While a dry cell's electrolyte is not truly completely free of moisture and must contain some moisture to function, when it was first developed it had the advantage of containing no sloshing liquid that might leak or drip out when inverted or handled roughtly, making it highly suitable for small portable electric devices. By comparison, the first wet cells were typically fragile glass containers with lead rods hanging from the open top, and needed careful handling to avoid spillage. An inverted wet cell would almost certainly leak, while a dry cell would not. Wet-cell
Lead-acid batteries would not achieve the safety and portability of the dry cell, until the development of theGel Battery .Primary wet cells
Daniell cell
:"main article:
Daniell cell The most famous wet cell is the Daniell cell, which is sometimes referred to as a crowfoot or gravity cell. The Daniell cell was developed in 1836 by the British chemist (and meteorologist)John Frederic Daniell .Other primary wet cells
Other primary wet cells are the
Leclanche cell ,Grove cell ,Bunsen cell ,Chromic acid cell ,Clark cell andWeston cell .econdary wet cells
A battery is a collection of several
galvanic cell s connected in series to produce a greatervoltage than a single cell could.Car batteries are wet cells and give a good example of the pros and cons of such systems. A standard 12-V car battery consists of 6 leadacid cells that each produce 2 volts. The most commonly usedlead-acid battery consists of alead metal anode and alead oxide cathode, both of which are immersed in a solution ofsulfuric acid . As seen in car batteries, a disadvantage of such a system is that it is extremely heavy. On the plus side, however, theredox reaction that occurs is readily reversible allowing it to have a long, reliable, and useful life. In a car battery, the cell is recharged by the car'salternator .
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