No, the terminal potential (or terminal voltage) of a cell is **not always equal** to the electromotive force (EMF) of the cell. There is a relationship between the two, but they differ depending on whether or not the cell is delivering current to an external circuit.
### Key Definitions:
1. **Electromotive Force (EMF)**:
- EMF is the maximum potential difference between the two terminals of a cell when no current is flowing. It is the energy provided by the cell per unit charge to drive the current around the circuit. In other words, it's the open-circuit voltage when the cell is not connected to any external load.
- Denoted by **E**.
- It represents the chemical energy converted into electrical energy per unit charge in the cell.
2. **Terminal Voltage**:
- Terminal voltage is the actual potential difference between the two terminals of a cell when it is connected to an external load and current is flowing.
- It is the voltage you measure across the cell's terminals when the circuit is complete.
- Denoted by **V**.
### Relationship Between Terminal Voltage and EMF:
#### 1. **When No Current Flows (Open Circuit):**
- In an open circuit, no current is flowing, and the terminal voltage is equal to the EMF.
- \[
V = E
\]
- Example: When a battery is not connected to any external device, the voltage measured across its terminals will be its EMF.
#### 2. **When Current Flows (Closed Circuit):**
- When the cell is delivering current to a circuit, internal resistance comes into play. Every real battery or cell has some **internal resistance (r)**, which resists the flow of current inside the cell itself.
- Due to the internal resistance, some voltage is "lost" within the cell as heat, and this causes the terminal voltage to be less than the EMF.
- The relationship is given by:
\[
V = E - Ir
\]
Where:
- \(V\) is the terminal voltage.
- \(E\) is the EMF.
- \(I\) is the current flowing through the circuit.
- \(r\) is the internal resistance of the cell.
- In this case, the terminal voltage is lower than the EMF because some energy is used to overcome the internal resistance.
#### 3. **When the Cell is Being Charged:**
- If the cell is being charged (current flows into the cell), the terminal voltage can be **greater than the EMF**. This is because the charging current adds to the internal voltage drop.
- The relationship during charging is:
\[
V = E + Ir
\]
### Example Scenario:
- Consider a battery with an EMF of 12 V and an internal resistance of 0.5 ohms.
- **Open Circuit**: If no current is flowing, the terminal voltage will be 12 V (same as the EMF).
- **Closed Circuit**: If the battery delivers a current of 2 A to a circuit, the terminal voltage can be calculated as:
\[
V = E - Ir = 12 - (2 \times 0.5) = 12 - 1 = 11 \text{ V}
\]
So, in this case, the terminal voltage drops to 11 V when the battery is supplying current.
### Summary:
- **Terminal voltage = EMF only when no current flows (open circuit).**
- **Terminal voltage < EMF when the cell is delivering current (closed circuit) due to internal resistance.**
- **Terminal voltage > EMF when the cell is being charged.**
In practical situations, terminal voltage is usually less than the EMF when a battery is in use, as current flowing through the battery causes some voltage to drop across the internal resistance.