Electromagnetic field

[freyna]

Hi I have a question... Is it possible to create a electromagnetic field that has enough force to separate substances in a heterogeneous substance?

Edited December 17, 2014 by freyna

[swansont]

Like with water?

http://iopscience.iop.org/0963-0252/22/1/015010

[freyna]

Water with fat and celullar debris for an example, can the electromagnetic field separate them?

[studiot]

You have certainly fooled our esteemed moderator with your pretty colours. Boring black is best for most purposes.

 

You said

 

 

separate molecules

 

and from your second post it seems that that actually want to separate molecules, not split them.

 

Please confirm.

 

If this is the case then boiling of the water in a microwave oven is a simple example.

[freyna]

Sorry you are right, is not separating molecules its of separating substances. And boiling water is not an option

[studiot]

Well if you tell us what molecules you wish to sort, perhaps the chemists will scratch their heads and help.

 

You can use electric and or magnetic fields to separate polar from non polar molecules or other particles for instance.

 

Electrostatic dust precipitators are a good example.

[swansont]

Sorry you are right, is not separating molecules its of separating substances. And boiling water is not an option

 

OK, I misunderstood.

 

If one molecule was polar or had magnetic properties, it's possible you could do this.

[imatfaal]

This seems like a form of electrophoresis - this is the use of a gel with an electric field across it to allow separation of molecules dependent on their mass and charge. It is most often done to sort out large biomolecules - proteins dna/rna etc. There is also a technique called electrochromatography - but these techniques tend to be for analytic quantities only iirc