Centrifuge

A centrifuge is a piece of equipment that puts a substance in circular motion in order for the centrifugal force to separate a fluid from a fluid or from a solid substance. Generally, a motor drives the rotary motion of the sample. There are many different kinds of centrifuges, often for very specialised purposes.

Different types and uses

• Simple centrifuges are used in biology and biochemistry for isolating and separating biocompounds on the basis of molecular weight. These will tend to rotate at a slower rate than an ultracentrifuge, and have larger rotors, and be optimized for holding large quantities of material at intermediate acceleration.
• Standalone centrifuges for drying (hand-washed) clothes - usually with a water outlet.
• Other centrifuges, the first being the Zippe-type, are used to separate isotopes, and these kinds of centrifuges are in use in nuclear power and nuclear weapon programs.
• Exceptionally large centrifuges are used to test the reactions of pilots and astronauts to acceleration above those experienced in the Earth's gravity.
• In soil mechanics, centrifuges utilize centrifugal acceleration to match soil stresses in a scale model to those found in reality.
• Large industrial centrifuges are commonly used in water and wastewater treatment to dry sludges. The resulting dry product is often termed cake and the water leaving a centrifugal after most of the solids have been removed is called centrate.
• Centrifuges are used in the attraction , located at the EPCOT Center in Walt Disney World. Florida, which propels riders using a combination of a centrifuge and a motion simulator to simulate the feeling of going into space.