Definition
A device that produces electrical energy through a chemical reaction between two dissimilar metal electrodes immersed in an electrolyte. The chemical reaction causes electrons to flow from one electrode to the other through an external circuit, producing a usable voltage.
Plain English
A basic chemical battery. Two different metals sit in a liquid or paste, and the reaction between them pushes electricity through a wire connected to both.
Context Anchor
Seen in aircraft electrical system and battery discussions, especially when explaining how a battery is made from individual cells.
Derivation
Named after Alessandro Volta, the Italian physicist who built the first practical chemical battery around 1800. The unit of electrical pressure -- the volt -- is named after the same man, which is why his name attaches to anything that produces voltage chemically.
Why Pilots Care
An aircraft battery is built from voltaic cells connected in series. Understanding that each cell produces a small, fixed voltage explains why a 12-volt battery has six cells and a 24-volt battery has twelve, and why a single failed cell drops the whole battery's output.
Analogy
A voltaic cell is like one section of a flashlight battery. One cell makes a small amount of electrical push; several cells connected together make a stronger battery.
Intuition Check
A cell here does not mean a phone, a prison room, or a living body cell. It means one basic electricity-producing unit inside a battery.
Example Sentence 1
Each voltaic cell in a lead-acid battery produces about two volts, so six cells in series give the nominal twelve volts.
Example Sentence 2
During preflight the pilot checks that each voltaic cell in the battery maintains proper voltage under load.