Electrolytic trough

The electrolytic trough is a simple physical test arrangement for measuring and representing electric fields in solutions. Tap water is often used as a weakly conductive electrolyte in which the electrodes are immersed. In addition, no direct voltage , but an alternating voltage is applied to prevent the formation of a Debye layer , which would cause an additional voltage drop of approx. 1 volt. The lines or areas of the same potential are then measured using a probe , using the Poggendorff compensation method. The electric field can then easily be derived and represented, since its field lines are perpendicular to the equipotential lines. Due to the low voltages, however, there is no significant electrolysis of the solution.

The electrolytic trough is part of some curricula and university internships.

Web links

• Experimental setup at the Institute for Physics at the Cologne University of Applied Sciences
• Theory and experimental implementation at Kiel University (PDF file; 136 kB)
• Complete experiment instructions from the University of Stuttgart (part of the beginner's internship) ( Memento from June 11, 2007 in the Internet Archive )