A solid electric conductor used to establish an electrical arc between contacts at either end of an #0excludeGlossary Discharge (HID) lamp.
An electrode is an electrical conductor used to make contact with a nonmetallic part of a circuit (e.g. a semiconductor, an electrolyte, a vacuum or a gas). In electrochemical cells, electrodes are essential parts that can consist of a variety of materials (chemicals) depending on the type of cell. An electrode may be called either a cathode or anode according to the direction of the electric current, unrelated to the potential difference between electrodes.
Michael Faraday coined the term "electrode" in 1833; the word recalls the Greek ἤλεκτρον (ḗlektron, "amber") and ὁδός (hodós, "path, way").
The electrophore, invented by Johan Wilcke in 1762, was an early version of an electrode used to study static electricity.
English
Etymology
Coined by British scientist Michael Faraday in 1833, first used in his Diary (laboratory notebook) from the Ancient Greek words ἤλεκτρον (ḗlektron, “amber”) (from which the word electricity is derived) and ὁδός (hodós, “way”). By surface analysis, electro- + -ode
Pronunciation
- (UK) IPA(key): /əˈlɛk.tɹəʊd/, /iˈlɛk.tɹəʊd/
Noun
electrode (plural electrodes)
- The terminal
