Theoretical Considerations on Cell Shape, Convection, and an Area Anomaly Pertinent to Developing a Moving Boundary Theory for Ultracentrifugation (open access)

Theoretical Considerations on Cell Shape, Convection, and an Area Anomaly Pertinent to Developing a Moving Boundary Theory for Ultracentrifugation

The intuitive concept that a sector shaped centrifuge cell is free from convection is criticized. Not only is a form of convection present for a single sedimenting species, but a more insidious type occurs in a mixture having an appreciable Johnston-Ogston effect. Rather than striving for convection-free sedimentation, the proposal is to utilize if possible an apparently harmless type of convection occurring in a very thin annulus in order to avoid the convection extending between boundaries in a mixture. The requirement that the concentrations be independent of time meets this condition and yields a hyperbolic cell, which is approximated by a sector cell placed in the rotor backwards. Simultaneously, area measurements and calculations involving the Johnston-Ogston anomaly are simplified because of the time independence.
Date: July 8, 1952
Creator: Trautman, Rodes
System: The UNT Digital Library