Separation Technique for Nonconducting Solids in Liquid Sodium

A technique for separating solids from liquid sodium consists of applying a magnetic field to a confined liquid metal and passing a direct current through the molten metal at right angles to the magnetic field. The force field so established in the molten metal causes the suspended solid particles to move in the direction opposite to the force field, effecting their separation. The pressure that a solid particle will experience on one face is going to be greater than the pressure on the opposite face. By equating this pressure difference to the force of friction, which resists the movement of the suspended particle, we can calculate the terminal velocity of the particle.