Background Information
What is Electro-Chemistry?
Electrochemistry is the study of exchange between electrical and chemical energy. The applications of electrochemistry are widespread, ranging from the batteries in your phones to the production of copper pipes that carry your water. The electrochemical processes used to make these products utilize oxidation and reduction reactions. Oxidation and reduction, which are the loss and gain of electrons, occur in many chemical systems. The study of these electrochemical changes is called electrochemistry.
Pedagogical Reasoning
Discoveries Relating to Electrochemistry
Electrochemistry is the study of exchange between electrical and chemical energy. The applications of electrochemistry are widespread, ranging from the batteries in your phones to the production of copper pipes that carry your water. The electrochemical processes used to make these products utilize oxidation and reduction reactions. Oxidation and reduction, which are the loss and gain of electrons, occur in many chemical systems. The study of these electrochemical changes is called electrochemistry.
Pedagogical Reasoning
- Please note that the Ontario Educational Resource Bank starts the electrochemistry unit by presenting some history as background information. This is a good pedagogic technique because it allows students to appreciate the hard work required to understand electricity. In addition providing students with historical events may teach them more about the nature of science. In other words, students will appreciate that discoveries are made over many hundreds of yeas. One scientist cannot be given all the credit because science builds on the knowledge of previous publications.
Discoveries Relating to Electrochemistry
Baghdad battery created by mesopotamia during the dynasties of persian empire period (early centuries AD)
In 1550s, English scientist William Gilbert spent 17 years experimenting with magnetism and electricity.
1663: The electric generator was created by Otto von Guericke which produced static electricity by applying friction.
1709, Francis Hauksbee took Von Guericke’s invention one step further by and added a small amount of mercury in the glass of his generator which evacuated the air and made the glass flow whenever the ball built up charge
1729-1736: Stephen Gray & Jean Desaguliers, two English scientist, showed that an object (i.e. cork) could be electrified 800-900 feet by connecting it via charged glass tube to materials such as metals wires or hempen string.
1780s Luigi Galvani: animal electricity via frog experiment.
- Connected nerves of a recently dead frog to a metal wire and pointed it toward the sky during thunderstorm. The lightning flashes made the frog legs twitch and jump. (Inspired the Frankenstein series 20 years later).
- Image Reference
Charles Francois de Cisternay du Fay:developed the law of electrostrostatic attraction like charges attract whereas opposite charges repel.
1800: English chemists William Nicholson and Johann Ritter succeeded in decomposing water into hydrogen and oxygen by electrolysis.
1809: Sir Humphry Davy's invented the first electric light, to be used as a miner's safety lamp.
1832: Michael Faraday's, Humphry Davy's lab assistant, stated the two laws of electrochemistry.
1888: Hermann Nernst developed the theory of the electromotive force of the voltaic cell.
1889: Nernst formulated the Nernst Equation, which related the voltage of a cell to its properties.
1889: Nernst formulated the Nernst Equation, which related the voltage of a cell to its properties.