Diffusion in neutral and ionized gases with extreme pressure gradients

Abstract

Diffusion in vortex flows is considered as a simple case of the more general problem of diffusion in flows with large pressure gradients normal to the principal flow direction. Two examples are considered. In the first the two gases are assumed electrically neutral, and pressure and concentration diffusion are equally important. In the second, diffusion of the electrons of an ionized gas is studied. Diffusion due to electromagnetic body forces is of equal importance with pres sure diffusion in this case, while concentration diffusion is negligible. It is found in the first example that the ratio of the radial mass flow of one species to the total radial mass flow is a characteristic value of the diffusion equation. The rates of diffusion are such that significant separation of the isotopes of uranium should be possible in vortices with supersonic tangential velocities. The radial pressure gradient leads to a radial electric field in the second example. A solution is obtained for the case of zero currents. By means of a perturbation technique, the solution is then extended to the case of small currents and induced fields.