There is no RationalWiki without you. We are a small non-profit with no staff—we are hundreds of volunteers who document pseudoscience and crankery around the world every day. We will never allow ads because we must remain independent. We cannot rely on big donors with corresponding big agendas. We are not the largest website around, but we believe we play an important role in defending truth and objectivity. |
Fighting pseudoscience isn't free. We are 100% user-supported! Help and donate $5, $10, $20 or whatever you can today with ![]() ![]() |
Centrifuge
Poetry of reality Science |
![]() |
We must know. We will know. |
A view from the shoulders of giants. |
A centrifuge is a piece of equipment that rotates an object around a fixed axis (spins it in a circle), applying an outward force. When this happens, the denser materials migrate outwards, while the less dense ones are pushed inwards.
Industrial-scale centrifuges are commonly used in manufacturing and waste processing to separate suspended solids or immiscible liquids. An example of this is the cream separator found in dairies. Centrifuges are also used to separate isotopes of the same atomic element for nuclear energy and nuclear weapons, since different isotopes have different masses (and radioactivity).