Bunsen cell

Bunsen cell

The Bunsen cell is a zinc-carbon primary cell (colloquially called a "battery") composed of a zinc anode in dilute sulfuric acid separated by a porous pot from a carbon cathode in nitric or chromic acid.

Cell details

The Bunsen cell voltage is about 1.9 volts and arises from the following reaction: [cite book | author = Carhart, Henry Smith | title = Primary Batteries | year = 1891 | publisher = Allyn and Bacon | location = Boston | pages = 179 – 180 | url = http://books.google.com/books?id=6aA3AAAAMAAJ&pg=PA179&dq=bunsen+cell+reactions#PPA179,M2 | accessdate = 2008-09-13]

:: Zn + H2SO4 + 2HNO3 → ZnSO4 + 2 H2O + 2 NO2↑

The cell is named after its inventor, German chemist Robert Wilhelm Bunsen, who improved upon the Grove cell by replacing Grove's platinum cathode with carbon in the form of pulverized coal and coke. This battery, like Grove's, also emitted noxious fumes.

Bunsen used this cell to extract metals from their salts by electrolysis, enabling him to isolate metallic magnesium for the first time.

Henri Moissan used a stack of 90 cells for the electrolysis of hydrogen fluoride to obtain the element fluorine for the first time.

ee also

* Daniell cell
* Volta cell
* History of the battery
* Primary cell terminology

References

Further reading

*cite book | last = Ayrton | first = W.E. | coauthors = T. Mather | authorlink = | title = Practical Electricity | publisher = Cassell and Company | date = 1911 | location = London | pages = pp. 183-185 | url = | doi = | id = | isbn =
*cite book | last = Peschel | first = Karl Friedrich | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = Elements of Physics | publisher = Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans | date = 1846 | location = | pages = p. 82 | url = http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=JqsLAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA82&dq=bunsen+cell&lr=&as_brr=1 | doi = | id = | isbn =
*cite journal
title = Ueber eine neue Construction der galvanischen Säule
journal = Annalen der Chemie und Pharmacie
volume = 38
issue 3
year = 1841
pages = 311–313
author = R. Bunsen
doi = 10.1002/jlac.18410380306
*cite journal
title = Ueber die Anwendung der Kohle zu Volta'schen Batterien
journal = Annalen der Physik und Chemie
volume = 130
issue = 11
year = 1841
pages = 417–430
author = R. Bunsen
doi = 10.1002/andp.18411301109

External links

* [http://chem.ch.huji.ac.il/~eugeniik/history/bunsen.html#battery Bunsen "Battery"]


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  • Bunsen cell — Bun sen cell (Elec.) A zinc carbon cell in which the zinc (amalgamated) is surrounded by dilute sulphuric acid, and the carbon by nitric acid or a chromic acid mixture, the two plates being separated by a porous cup. [Webster 1913 Suppl.] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Bunsen cell — noun An early electrical battery using zinc and graphite in dilute chromic acid See Also: Bunsen pile …   Wiktionary

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  • Bunsen, Robert Wilhelm — ▪ German chemist born March 31, 1811, Göttingen, Westphalia [Germany] died Aug. 16, 1899, Heidelberg, Baden  German chemist who, with Gustav Kirchhoff, about 1859 observed that each element emits a light of characteristic wavelength. These… …   Universalium

  • Bunsen's — Battery Bat ter*y, n.; pl. {Batteries}. [F. batterie, fr. battre. See {Batter}, v. t.] 1. The act of battering or beating. [1913 Webster] 2. (Law) The unlawful beating of another. It includes every willful, angry and violent, or negligent… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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