How to use

How Electrochemical Cells Work

This tool runs four cells — the Daniell cell, a lead-acid battery, electrolysis and a fuel cell — so you can see what actually moves in electrochemistry. The blue dots in the wire are electrons, the dots drifting in the liquid are ions, and oxidation and reduction go on at the electrodes.

In a cell, electrons leave the electrode that is oxidised, travel through the wire and are taken up at the other electrode. In electrolysis a power supply pushes electrons in and forces the reverse to happen. Both are the same handover of electrons; only the direction differs.

Pick a cell in the cell panel. For the lead-acid battery you can choose discharge or charge, and for electrolysis the solution, in the child panel. The view panel turns the motion on and off and sets how strong the current is.