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.

这基本上与称池的原池相反，它， 使用、来分、分。

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 找到了一种简单的方法来做到这一点，与普通池相比， 浪费的能量要少得多， 但创造的东西消耗的能量多于它产生的能量。