Electrolytic cell vs galvanic cell

[MCAT guy]

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So I understand that the electrolytic cells go in an unfavorable direction, driven by a battery to charge up or store a charge.

My question is, if I have Zn and Cu in a galvanic cell, I just let them run and I get a voltage.

Well, when I have Zn and Cu in an electrolytic cell, then I put on a battery to store up charge in these cells.

WHY though? I mean, if I have the Zn and Cu and they naturally run forward to produce a reaction/voltage then why go through the trouble of driving it in the opposite direction?

 

[loveoforganic]

If you want to form zinc or get rid of copper, or store voltage in a different form. Not all batteries are made equal.

 

[Rayhaan]

Because that's the point of an electrolytic battery? Think of a car, and how you start it. It draws power from the battery so that it can start the ignition and then start using gas. If you didn't electrolytically recharge that battery as you drove it would eventually die, and you wouldn't be able to start your car! And as the previous poster said, to create the other metal; maybe you want zinc and not copper, so just reverse the direction and voila! Zinc!

 

[MCAT4life]

any kind of rechargeable device employs the Electrolytic cell model.... If you just use galvanic cell all the time, imagine the amount of cell phone batteries you would have to buy lol..