The following sections of this BookRags Literature Study Guide is offprint from Gale's For Students Series: Presenting Analysis, Context, and Criticism on Commonly Studied Works: Introduction, Author Biography, Plot Summary, Characters, Themes, Style, Historical Context, Critical Overview, Criticism and Critical Essays, Media Adaptations, Topics for Further Study, Compare & Contrast, What Do I Read Next?, For Further Study, and Sources.
(c)1998-2002; (c)2002 by Gale. Gale is an imprint of The Gale Group, Inc., a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Gale and Design and Thomson Learning are trademarks used herein under license.
The following sections, if they exist, are offprint from Beacham's Encyclopedia of Popular Fiction: "Social Concerns", "Thematic Overview", "Techniques", "Literary Precedents", "Key Questions", "Related Titles", "Adaptations", "Related Web Sites". (c)1994-2005, by Walton Beacham.
The following sections, if they exist, are offprint from Beacham's Guide to Literature for Young Adults: "About the Author", "Overview", "Setting", "Literary Qualities", "Social Sensitivity", "Topics for Discussion", "Ideas for Reports and Papers". (c)1994-2005, by Walton Beacham.
All other sections in this Literature Study Guide are owned and copyrighted by BookRags, Inc.
Electroplating is the process of coating an electrically conducting surface with a thin layer (seldom more than 0.001 in [0.025 mm] thick) of metal by electrolytic deposition. In electroplating, the object to be plated is made the cathode in an electrolytic bath of salts of the metal to be plated. The anode may be an unaffected metal, or, more commonly, the metal to be plated. An electric current is passed through the solution, which results in the deposition of a thin metal plating in the desired thickness on the cathode. Traces of organic materials are usually added to the plating solution to give a more adherent coating, though the reasons for this effect are not well understood.
Electroplating may be used to increase the value or improve the appearance of an object. For example, the technique is used to silver-plate table utensils and to weatherproof objects with cadmium or chromium plating. Coatings such as zinc and tin provide protection against corrosion. Other plated metals include nickel, copper, and gold.
While the electroplating is in progress, additional salts of the metal to be plated must continually be added to the plating solution, or else the anode must be renewed, if it consists of the plating metal. If the coating metal does not form a strong alloy with the metal to be plated, it may be necessary to first coat with an intermediate metal; for example, when plating silver on steel, it is customary to first place a coating of copper over the steel.
When plating gold or silver, it is customary to use a solution containing a double cyanide of the coating metal and potassium (the cyanide ion lowers the concentration of free metal ions, and prevents the plating from taking place too rapidly). In nickel plating, an electrolytic solution containing nickel ammonium sulfate may be used.