How are gasses, such as helium, separated from other gasses and added to a canister?
In: Chemistry
Gases can be separated similarly to the way some mixtures of liquids are separated,
by taking advantage of their different characteristics.
Some liquids are separated by distillation: different boiling points.
A solution contains some liquid A and some liquid B.
Liquid A has a boiling point lower than the boiling point of liquid B.
If you heat the solution to the boiling point of liquid A, A will become a gas, and you can cool the gas and collect liquid A.
You can continue heating the solution to the boiling point of B, and separate and collect B as well.
With gases like helium, oxygen, nitrogen, they have different boiling points as well, so we take advantage of that by *cooling* the mixed gas. Cool air enough and the oxygen will condense out (at 90 kelvin), and you can collect it. Keep cooling the gas and the nitrogen will condense out (63 kelvin) and you can collect *it*.
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