Eli5: What happens during electrolysis/what does electrolysis do?
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Electrolysis uses electric current to break electrons off of molecules. The negative charge diode repels the electeons breaking them off. Because these are negatively charged they flow naturally to the positive diode. This is common in plating situations like chrome or anodized aluminum (pretty colored aluminum).
Okay, imagine you have a lemon and you stick two metal sticks into the lemon. One stick is made of copper and the other is made of zinc. If you connect the two sticks with a wire, you’ll see that something strange happens. The copper stick will start to turn brown and the zinc stick will start to turn silver.
This is similar to a process called electrolysis. Electrolysis is a way to break down a substance using electricity. Just like how the lemon is like a battery that makes electricity with the copper and zinc, scientists can use electricity from a power source to break down different substances into simpler parts.
For example, if you want to separate water into hydrogen and oxygen, you can use electrolysis. Scientists can use electricity to split the water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen. The hydrogen will go to one side and the oxygen will go to the other side. And just like that, you got two new elements out of water!
Another example would be using electrolysis to extract metal from ore. They use electricity to break down the ore and extract the metal inside. This process is used in mining industry to extract metals like aluminum, copper and gold.
So, electrolysis is a way to break down things using electricity, like splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen, or extracting metal from ore.
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