An anode is an
electrode through which (positive)
electric current flows into a polarized electrical device. Mnemonic: ACE (Anode Current Enters).To dispel a common misconception, often incorrectly inferred from the correct fact that in all electrochemical devices negatively charged anions move towards the anode and/or positively charged cations move away from it, anode polarity is not always positive but depends on the device type, and sometimes even in which mode it operates, as determined by the above current direction-based universal definition. Examples:In a discharging battery or
galvanic cell (drawing) the anode is the negative terminal, where
conventional current flows in. This inwards current is carried externally by electrons moving outwards, negative charge moving one way amounting to positive current flowing the other way. It is continued internally by positive ions moving into the
electrolyte, i.e. surprisingly away from the more negative electrode and towards the more positive one (chemical energy is responsible for this "uphill" motion).In a recharging battery, or an
electrolytic cell, the anode is the positive terminal, which receives current from an external generator.In a
diode, it is the positive terminal at the tail of the arrow symbol, where current flows into the device. Note electrode naming for diodes is always based on the direction of the forward current (that of the arrow, in which the current flows "most easily"), even for types such as zener diodes or solar cells where the current of interest is the reverse current.In a
cathode ray tube, it is the positive terminal where electrons flow out, i.e. where current flows in.
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