[maccha]

I'm just a little confusion about the two. I'm learning about electrochem and half cells, etc. My textbook says that a cell's electric potential is the difference between the two half cell's reduction potentials, so are these the same thing?

[renge ishyo]

Electric potential is the general term for the measurement of the energy that can be transferred per unit charge. It does not necessarily need to involve chemical processes. For example, you can generate an electric potential by rotating a wire in a magnetic field.

On the other hand the reduction potential is the electric potential that is generated when a certain species is being chemically reduced. So yeah, it is an "electric potential" of sorts, but as opposed to being a general term, the "reduction potential" refers to the electric potential that appears for a very specific process (chemical reduction).

I hope that didn't make things even more confusing  

[srihari]

Hey !
@ range ishyo

is the reduction potential the potential developed by dipping a metal piece
into a ionic solution of the same metal ?
Why does the reduction of a chemical come into place ?
could you please elaborate ?

[maccha]

That makes sense, thanks so much!

[renge ishyo]

Srihari,

The reduction potential is measured relative to the standard hydrogen electrode which is given a value of zero. You can't have reduction without an accompanying oxidation half reaction, but if you you use hydrogen as the other half reaction then by default the value you get is the value of the metal "by itself" (since hydrogen is set to zero).

[srihari]

okie
thanks

regards
srihari