Example
Let gas 1 be H2 and gas 2 be O2.
Therefore, hydrogen molecules effuse four times faster than those of oxygen.
Graham's Law can also be used to find the approximate molecular weight of a gas if one gas is a known species, and if there is a specific ratio between the rates of two gases (such as in the previous example). The equation can be solved for either one of the molecular weights provided the subscripts are consistent.
Graham's law was the basis for separating 235U from 238U found in natural uraninite (uranium ore) during the Manhattan project to build the first atomic bomb. The United States government built a gaseous diffusion plant at the then phenomenal cost of $100 million in Clinton, Tennessee. In this plant, uranium from uranium ore was first converted to uranium hexafluoride and then forced repeatedly to diffuse through porous barriers, each time becoming a little more enriched in the slightly lighter 235U isotope.
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