核心畫面

One way to hold this word is to picture electricity as a pair of invisible hands reaching into something wet and pulling it open. Two metal ends go in, the current is switched on, and what was joined together comes apart. In a lab the thing coming apart is water, and the two gases collect at opposite ends. In a clinic the thing coming apart is the root that holds a hair in the skin. The setting changes; the picture does not.

可以想成電流是一雙看不見的手,伸進濕的東西裡,把它拉開。兩根金屬棒插進去,電一通,原本連在一起的就分開了。在實驗室裡更多收起可以想成電流是一雙看不見的手,伸進濕的東西裡,把它拉開。兩根金屬棒插進去,電一通,原本連在一起的就分開了。在實驗室裡被拉開的是水,兩邊各收到一種氣體。在診所裡被拉開的是皮膚下面抓著毛的那個根。場景不一樣,畫面是同一個:電流穿過去,把原本抓在一起的東西鬆開。字尾 -lysis 本來的意思就是「鬆開」,這條線索正好對上兩個用法。

From the word’s history

The word was made in 1834 by William Whewell for Michael Faraday, from electro- (electricity) plus -lysis (a loosening). So the name says the picture out loud: a loosening done by electricity.

這個字是 1834 年由 William Whewell 為法拉第造的,由 electro-(電)加上 -lysis(鬆開)組成。名字本身就把畫面說出來了:用電做的一場鬆開。

Wiktionary entry for electrolysis, source_ref kaikki:3f6f69a190036ae4:591547894:15532 (packet evidence)