Chemical Effects Of Electric Current

Join the free ends of the tester together for a moment. This completes the circuit of the tester and the bulb should glow. However, if the bulb does not glow, it means that the tester is not working. Can you think of the possible reasons? Is it possible that the connections are loose? Or, the bulb is fused? Or, your cells are used up? Check that all the connections are tight. If they are, then replace the bulb with another bulb. Now test if the tester is working or not. If it is still not working then replace the cells with fresh cells.

(Caution: While checking your tester, do not join its free ends for more than a few seconds. Otherwise the cells of the battery will drain very quickly.)

You know that a brand new bicycle has shiny handlebar and wheel rims. However, if these are accidentally scratched, the shiny coating comes off revealing a not so shiny surface beneath. You might have also seen women using ornaments, which appear to be made of gold. However, with repeated use, the gold coating wears off, revealing silver or some other metal beneath.

In both these cases, a metal has a coating of another metal. Do you wonder how a layer of one metal can be deposited on top of another? Well, let us try doing it ourselves.

The process of depositing a layer of any desired metal on another material by means of electricity is called electroplating. It is one of the most common applications of chemical effects of electric current.

Some liquids are good conductors of electricity and some are poor conductors.

Most liquids that conduct electricity are solutions of acids, bases and salts.

The passage of an electric current through a conducting liquid causes chemical reactions. The resulting effects are called chemical effects of currents.

The process of depositing a layer of any desired metal on another material, by means of electricity, is called electroplating.