The Collaborative International Dictionary
electroplating \e*lec"tro*pla`ting\, n. The art or process of depositing a coating (commonly) of silver, gold, or nickel on an inferior metal, by means of an electric current. The metal to be deposited on an article is usually used as the anode and the article to be plated as the cathode, in an electrolyte solution in which the plating metal is the cation. The process is conducted in a tank called an electroplating bath, which holds the electrolyte solution. [1913 Webster +PJC] ||
Wiktionary
n. A process of coating the surfaces of a metal object with a layer of a different metal through electrochemical means, usually to exploit different properties of the materials. vb. (present participle of electroplate English)
Wikipedia
Electroplating is a process that uses electric current to reduce dissolved metal cations so that they form a coherent metal coating on an electrode. The term is also used for electrical oxidation of anions onto a solid substrate, as in the formation silver chloride on silver wire to make silver/silver-chloride electrodes. Electroplating is primarily used to change the surface properties of an object (e.g. abrasion and wear resistance, corrosion protection, lubricity, aesthetic qualities, etc.), but may also be used to build up thickness on undersized parts or to form objects by electroforming.
The process used in electroplating is called electrodeposition. It is analogous to a galvanic cell acting in reverse. The part to be plated is the cathode of the circuit. In one technique, the anode is made of the metal to be plated on the part. Both components are immersed in a solution called an electrolyte containing one or more dissolved metal salts as well as other ions that permit the flow of electricity. A power supply supplies a direct current to the anode, oxidizing the metal atoms that it comprises and allowing them to dissolve in the solution. At the cathode, the dissolved metal ions in the electrolyte solution are reduced at the interface between the solution and the cathode, such that they "plate out" onto the cathode. The rate at which the anode is dissolved is equal to the rate at which the cathode is plated, vis-a-vis the current through the circuit. In this manner, the ions in the electrolyte bath are continuously replenished by the anode.
Other electroplating processes may use a non-consumable anode such as lead or carbon. In these techniques, ions of the metal to be plated must be periodically replenished in the bath as they are drawn out of the solution. The most common form of electroplating is used for creating coins such as pennies, which are small zinc plates covered in a layer of copper.
Usage examples of "electroplating".
But because they'd never developed electricity, there was no stainless steel, and no electroplating, so the rifle was made out of a strong, medium-carbon steel that was anything but rust-proof.
Modern chemical-powered small arms ammunition was manufactured using techniques which were a direct linear descendent of technology which had been available since time immemorial: copper or some other alloy was added to the outside of lead bullets by a form of electroplating.