*11.  A centrifuge is a device in which a small container of material is rotated at a high speed on a circular path. Such a device is 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 6.25 x 103 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 5.00 cm from the axis of rotation?

 

Period T is the time for one revolution.  So

 

So if we invert this

So we are looking for 1/T ultimately

 

 

Take square root

But we also know circular speed is

Solve for 1/T

Number of revolutions per time is

 

 

 

 

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This page last updated on January 11, 2020