On Thursday, December 1, 2016 at 9:43:07 AM UTC-5, wrote:
For this to work there must be an electron pathway between the anode and the metal to be protected (e.g., a wire or direct contact) and an ion pathway between both the oxidizing agent (e.g., water or moist soil) and the anode, and the oxidizing agent and the metal to be protected, thus forming a closed circuit; therefore simply bolting a piece of active metal such as zinc to a less active metal, such as mild steel, in air (a poor conductor and therefore no closed circuit) will not furnish any protection.

First, the issue is protection in a wet environment, so there is an "ion pathway" (electrolyte). Plain, pure water is not much of an electrolyte -- but neither is it a severe corrosion problem. Salt in the water, or even many contaminants, produce more of a corrosion problem AND a better ion pathway..

The direct contact with the metal surface being protected usually is enough of a conducting path. Many protective electrodes used in marine environments are just screwed onto the metal being protected, and they work quite well.

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Ed Huntress