Electrochemical cell

Definition

The four-part system that drives corrosion: an anode that dissolves, a cathode that accepts electrons, an electrolyte that connects them, and a metallic path that completes the circuit.

MIC operates through this same cell rather than replacing it, with biology feeding the mechanism by separating anodic and cathodic regions cleanly. Electron flow still drives metal loss, but biology supplies favorable conditions continuously, day and night. The corrosion cell concept carries over directly from the Corrosion chapter into microbiology.

Related concepts

Passivation · Microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC) · Oxygen Differential Cell

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Part of The Blueprint of Water · ⚡ electrochemistry