Question

What is a device that can change chemical energy into electrical energy?

Answer 1

Hint :Chemical energy is the energy stored in the bonds of the chemical compounds, which can be released at the time of reaction, mostly in the form of heat. Electric energy is the form of kinetic energy obtained due to the movement of electric charges. We need to find a device that can extract the chemical energy from the reactions into electrical energy in the form of electric current.

Complete Step By Step Answer:
The first device that can convert chemical energy to electrical energy was made by Alexander Volta and Luigi Galvani.
Chemical energy is the energy released when chemicals react with each other, and electrical energy is the energy produced due to the flow of charges, or to be specific, the flow of electrons.
The device that can convert chemical energy into electrical energy is known as an electrochemical cell. A cell contains two components or rods namely anode and cathode that are dipped in suitable solutions.
Chemical energy is released in mostly redox reactions, the reactions in which oxidation and reduction take place at the same time.
On an anode, oxidation reactions occur and electrons are released. On cathode, a reduction reaction occurs and electrons are consumed. This rod are connected by a salt bridge to maintain electrical neutrality at one end, and the other ends are connected by a wire with a voltmeter in between to detect the flow of electrons.
This is the working principle of cell. If we stack up more than one cell together, then we get a battery. Cells are of two types – primary cell and the secondary cell.
Dry Cell, Nickel Cadmium cell, Voltaic cells or Galvanic cells, Mercury cells, Lead storage cells are the various types of cells that convert chemical energy into electrical energy.

Note :
Here, we learned that the concentration of solution at anode decreases with time. In some other cells, the concentration of solution at the cathode or both decreases with time. Hence, after a certain period of time, there won’t be enough ions available for the flow of current. Hence, a cell becomes dead after a certain period of time. Primary cells cannot be used after they are dead. Secondary cells, however, can be recharged by applying inverse current and changing electrical energy to chemical energy.