Hofmann Voltameter - Name

Name

The name 'voltameter' was coined by Daniell who shortened Faraday's original name of "volta-electrometer". Hofmann voltameters are no longer used as electrical measuring devices. However, before the invention of the ammeter, voltameters were often used to measure direct current, since current through a voltameter with iron or copper electrodes electroplates the cathode with an amount of metal from the anode directly proportional to the total coulombs of charge transferred (Faraday's law of electrolysis). The modern name is "electrochemical coulometer". Although the correct spelling of Hofmann contains only one 'f', it is often incorrectly depicted as Hoffmann.