Separation of mixtures of gaseous isotopes

摘要

A standing electromagnetic wave haing nodes, penetrates through a gaseous jet of the mixture of the isotopes to be separated, while relative motion takes place between the wave and mixture in such a manner that the isotopes are prevented from dwelling in the vicinity of the wave nodes while the isotopes are traversed by the electromagnetic wave. By adjusting the frequency of the electromagnetic wave so that the individual isotopes of the mixture are selectively influenced differently as far as their dipole behavior is concerned, they can be segregated by the electric and/or magnetic field of the wave. Undesirable effects of such dwelling can also be reduced by the angularity at which the wave penetrates the gaseous jet.