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Centrifugation

Centrifugation

Centrifugation is a separation technique based on differences in density or size. It is commonly used to separate solids from aqueous interferents. During centrifugation, the sample is placed in centrifugation tubes and spun at high angular velocity, which allows centrifugal force to act differentially on the different densities or masses of the components. After spinning, the supernatant liquid is decanted. Depending on the specific application, either the pellet or the supernatant is retained...

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Direct Force Measurements of Subcellular Mechanics in Confinement using Optical Tweezers

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Published on: August 31, 2021

Probing molecular potentials with an optical centrifuge.

A A Milner¹, A Korobenko¹, J W Hepburn²

¹Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z1, Canada.

The Journal of Chemical Physics

|October 2, 2017

Summary

An optical centrifuge excites molecules to extreme rotational levels. This technique probes molecular potential energy surfaces by measuring bond stretching via rotational revival periods.

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Area of Science:

Molecular Spectroscopy
Physical Chemistry
Quantum Dynamics

Background:

Studying molecular potential energy surfaces provides insight into chemical bonding and reactions.
High rotational excitation can access molecular geometries far from equilibrium.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate molecular potential energy surfaces using ultra-high rotational excitation.
To probe molecular bond stretching at extreme internuclear distances.

Main Methods:

Utilizing an optical centrifuge to induce coherent rotational wave packets in N2O, OCS, and CS2 molecules.
Employing time-resolved rotational spectroscopy and coherent Raman scattering.
Measuring rotational revival periods at high rotational quantum numbers (up to J≈1186).

Main Results:

Achieved record levels of rotational excitation in N2O, OCS, and CS2.
Observed increasing rotational revival periods with increasing rotational frequency, indicating bond stretching.
Experimental data compared favorably with numerical calculations using Morse-cosine potentials.

Conclusions:

Optical centrifuges are effective tools for probing molecular potentials at large internuclear distances.
Rotational revival spectroscopy provides sensitive measurements of bond dynamics under extreme conditions.
The study validates the use of known potentials for describing highly stretched molecules.