Gas Separation

[Observables]

Hi all.

Just got a question to ask, I'm slightly puzzled by it.

Q.

Say that you have a sealed container and you put in it 50% helium and 50% argon and you leave it for a few days. Because argon is heavier than helium, would the most of the helium rise to the top part of the container while most of the argon sinks to the bottom?

 

[read]

No. Take the Boltzman equation in the earth gravity and calculate the concentrations n=n0*exp(-M*g*h/(R*T)), M - molar weight, R - gas constant. I believe the difference in concentrations will be much smaller than 1% at room temperature.

 

[Observables]

Thanks Read.