Experimental Verification of the Theory of the Thermal-Diffusion Column

Abstract

The accuracy of the Jones and Furry theory of the thermal‐diffusion column was tested in an extensive series of ²⁰Ne–²²Ne separation experiments. The experiments covered a range of cold‐wall to hot‐wall radius ratios from 2.95 to 20 and a range of hot‐wall temperatures from 108° to 815°C. Measured column transport coefficients were compared to theoretical values based on the measured transport properties of neon. The average ratio of the experimentally determined initial transport coefficient to the value calculated from theory was 0.899±0.047; the similar average ratio for the convective remixing coefficient was 1.18±0.129; and the average ratio for the diffusive remixing coefficient was 0.963±0.056.