This is essentially the opposite of a galvanic cell, known as an electrolytic cell, and it performs electrolysis, which uses electricity, electro-, to do the breaking apart, -lysis.

这基本上与称为电解池的原电池相反，它进行电解， 使用电、电来进行分解、分解。

Mayer thought he’d figured out an easy way to do it, with far less energy wasted than a normal electrolytic cell, but what he created consumed more energy than it produced.

Mayer 认为他找到了一种简单的方法来做到这一点，与普通电解池相比， 浪费的能量要少得多， 但他创造的东西消耗的能量多于它产生的能量。