It makes not intuitive sense to me why something can have a negative voltage , I understand the concept of voltage drop , but voltage is not being dropped in the anode so why would it be negative ?
Asked
Active
Viewed 2,258 times
-1
-
2Sign of potential doesn't have any meaning, since zero is arbitrary anyway. – Ivan Neretin Aug 23 '17 at 10:20
-
https://chemistry.stackexchange.com/questions/16785/positive-or-negative-anode-cathode-in-electrolytic-galvanic-cell – Mithoron Aug 23 '17 at 14:19
1 Answers
0
The anode is where the oxidation takes place, by definition, so the reduction potential must be more negative (or at least less positive) than the reduction potential at the cathode.
But, there is no guarantee that the reduction potential at the anode is negative.
Zhe
- 17,392
- 1
- 38
- 70