Question

A centrifuge is a device in which small container of material is rotated at a high speed on a circular path. Such a device is a used in medical laboratories, for instance, to cause the more dense red blood cells to settle through the less dense blood serum and collect at the bottom of the container. Suppose the centripetal acceleration of the sample is 6.60x10^3 times as large as the acceleration due to gravity. How many revolutions per minute is the sample making, if it is located at a radius of 4.28 cm from the axis of rotation?

Answer 1

Calculate the angular velocity w (in radians per second) using the equation

R*w^2 = 6600 g = 64,700 m/s^2

Use R = 4.28*10^-2 m

w = 1230 rad/s

Convert that to rpm for the answer.

It's about 12,000 rpm.