Bunsen cell

The Bunsen element is one of Robert Bunsen in 1841 improved variant of a 1839 developed by William Grove galvanic element.

The element of Grove consisted of a zinc electrode immersed in sulfuric acid as the electrolyte, surrounded by a porous clay cylinder as the diaphragm; as the counter electrode was platinum in nitric acid. Bunsen is to replace the expensive platinum electrode by a cylinder made of much cheaper coal squeezed succeeded. The Bunsen element was one of the most powerful sources of electrical current in his time.