What Does an Electrolytic Tank Do?

An electrolytic tank measures the electric potential and the potential gradient of the electrostatic field formed within the tank. The tank is a model of an electron-tube system that is submerged in a poorly conducting liquid before having various voltages of electricity applied to it in order to measure the electric potential and potential gradient of the submerged electrodes.

The facts

• An electrolytic tank is a tank in which voltages of electricity are passed through multiple set nodes submerged within a liquid. This allows scientists to study the conductivity of different substances within a controlled environment. Electrolytic tanks are used to design electrical networks and to plot the electron trajectory in an electrostatic field.

Significance

• Many states, such as Alabama, Arizona and Colorado, plus various overseas organizations, such as the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization and the Eurasian Patent Organization, have decided that the use of a modified electrolytic tank is substantially cheaper and easier to maintain than water-treatment facilities. They use a configuration of the electrolytic tank to treat water by means of electrochemical decomposition. (See reference two) Electrolytic tanks are also used to clean rust off various machines by adding baking soda to the electrolytic tank and running a low voltage through it. Users can slowly submerge different rust-tainted items into the tank to 'cook' away the buildup of rust. (See reference three)

Size

• Electrolytic tanks can come in various sizes depending on what they are going to be used for. Larger models are made for treating water and cleaning heavy machinery, and the tub used can be from about thirty gallons to the size of a small swimming pool. Water-treatment facilities that use electrolytic tanks have tanks that are roughly the size of small buildings, while tanks used in research labs to conduct theoretical experiments are scaled down to the size of a small sink. One thing to consider when figuring the size of your tank is that the larger the tank, the more liquid it will hold, and, depending on the substance and its conductivity, that will determine the voltage used to gain the desired effect.

Effects

• In an electrolytic tank, electricity is passed through the contained liquid from multiple nodes that are fixed within the tank. The electricity charges the liquid, causing a number of chemical reactions between the liquid, depending on what you have added, and how it reacts to the charge.

Considerations

• Despite how small your electrolytic tank may be, always remember that you are still constructing a weak open circuit. You should never touch the tank or anything that is submerged in the tank while you are running electricity through it.