Question

What is the principle of a centrifuge?

Answer 1

Different separation techniques are present depending on the property of the substances to be separated.

• Centrifugation is a separation technique which uses the principle "density difference of the components".
• When the mixture of components having different densities is rotated (or spun) using a centrifugal machine the denser particles are forced to move outward.
• Milk is a colloid, where the fat globules are dispersed in the medium (water).
• We can separate the cream from milk using the centrifugation technique.
• The particles which are small in size (i.e., which cannot separate using ordinary filter paper) are separated using this process.
• A simple centrifuge (in the laboratory) has a vertical shaft carrying four or more test tube holders where the mixture is put for rotation.
• The centrifugal force acts on the particles which force denser particles to move outward and lighter particles to move towards the center.