Isotope separation process
 Apparatus and method are specified for the separation of isotopes of elements and their compounds and other mixtures in gaseous form, for example, the separation of mixtures of uranium isotopes U-235 and U-238 as uranium hexafluorides. The separation is effected by passing a stream of the gaseous isotopic elements or compounds at high velocity into a low-molecular-weight stopping gas. The heavier isotopes travel farther through the stopping gas than the light isotopes in a given time and a spatial separation is thus achieved. The high velocity isotope stream is produced by acceleration of the isotope mixture in a low-molecular-weight carrier gas during passage through a nozzle into the region of the stopping gas. A flow of the stopping gas is maintained to remove the isotopes from the region of the high velocity stream. This flow is subsequently split into streams each enriched in one of the isotopes. The stopping gas is maintained at low temperature, either by expansion or by conventional refrigeration techniques, to enhance the degree of separation. 
The United States of America as represented by the United States Department of Energy
B
B01D
inventional
James B.
Anderson