Jasen Betts wrote >>> Alan Folmsbee wrote >>>>
>>>>> Just trying to bring some levity to an otherwise soured newsgroup...
>> 1>>> reduced to discussions about which end of a resistor is positive ;-)
>>>>>
>>>>> ...Jim Thompson
>>>>> --
>>>>
>>>> The anode is positive and the cathode is negative for a resistor, but
>>>> it is the opposite for a battery.
>>>
>>> The anode is the terminal that the anions move toward and cations move away
>>> from.
>>
>> In chemistry the terms are related to current flow,
>> in electronics the terms are fixed.
>>
>> (else zener diodes could be confusing...)
>
> Not current flow, direction of anion/cation flow. The point is the
> resulting polarity of the electrodes are different depending on whether the
> anion/cations are supplying the current or reacting to it.
Ion flow is driven by current flow so the directions correspond in all electrochemical cells.
I've not seen any different use in electronics and chemistry. The
> difference is between batteries and diodes.
In chemistry the anode is the terminal emitting electron current externally (or determined by ion flow internaly - the two are linked by well-understood conservation laws). Thus the name changes between charge and discharge.
In electronics the name is predetermined by rules that are different depending on the device and don't change during use.