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- Apparatus for rotating containers at high
- speeds. One use is for separating mixtures of
- substances of different densities. The
- mixtures are placed in the containers and the
- rotation sets up centrifugal forces, causing
- them to separate according to their
- densities. A common example is the separation
- of the lighter cream from the heavier milk in
- this way. The ultracentrifuge is a very
- high-speed centrifuge, used for separating
- colloids, and in biochemistry, and may
- operate at several million revolutions per
- minute. Large centrifuges are used for
- physiological research, for example, in
- astronaut training where bodily response is
- tested to many times the normal gravitational
- force.
-