photolysis

[foh-tol-uh-sis]

noun

1. the chemical decomposition of materials under the influence of light.

photolysis

/ fəʊˈtɒlɪsɪs, ˌfəʊtəʊˈlɪtɪk /

noun

1. chemical decomposition caused by light or other electromagnetic radiation Compare radiolysis

photolysis

1. Chemical decomposition induced by light or other radiant energy. Photolysis plays an important role in photosynthesis, during which it produces energy by splitting water molecules into gaseous oxygen and hydrogen ions.

Other Word Forms

• photolytic adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of photolysis¹

First recorded in 1910–15; photo- + -lysis

Example Sentences

In the absence of an ozone layer during Earth's early days, this process, known as photolysis, would have quickly purged sulfur compounds from the atmosphere and the water, albeit not quite as efficiently as the abundant oxygen in today's world.

Read more on Science Daily

While it's plausible that slow disproportionation could have allowed sulfites to accumulate, photolysis would have made that very unlikely except in certain environments such as shallow water pools, shaded from UV radiation, particularly if fed by surface runoff to provide mineral shields.

Read more on Science Daily

"Even otherwise very stable solvents can be attacked by the superphotooxidant when excited by LED light," emphasized Dr. Nathan East, who prepared the new complex and performed all photolysis experiments during his PhD in the group of Professor Katja Heinze.

Read more on Science Daily

This process would have been self- limiting, as Urey showed, since the wave lengths needed for photolysis are the very ones screened out selectively by oxygen; the production of oxygen would have been cut off almost as soon as it occurred.

Read more on Literature

As a result, he says, the clouds inside are more susceptible to UV photolysis.

Read more on Forbes