有人对总温分离现象（Ranque-Hilsch效应）了解吗？

yxjbuaa

很久以前就知道旋涡管的总温分离现象（Ranque-Hilsch效应），当时没有做太多思考，无意间又看到了关于这种效应的介绍，如果这种现象是真实的，还真的不知道怎么解释的好。不知道这是不是力学领域很基础的问题，哪位能不吝赐教，点拨一二～～
一些网上资料：
二十世纪三、四十年代，法国冶金工程师Ranque及德国科学家Hilsch分别发现当气流在向心旋流器中，通过向心螺旋通道送入旋涡管产生旋流时，会发生总温分离现象，旋涡管中外围的气流总温比中心的气流总温高。该温差随初始气流温度的升高而升高。高低温气流的出口可在同一端，也可分别安置于二端（如图2所示）。试验结果表明，同向出气旋涡管所产生的总温分离效果在大多数情况下达不到异向出气旋涡管的50％。
可信否？真的有实际应用吗？

ycchen100

A first look to me to explain this phenomenon is simply the centrifugal force effect. Low density moleculars (hot gas) tend to move to the circumference of the "vortex tube" while high density moluculars (cold gas) will accumulated inside the core of the swirling flow. This is consistent with the observation that the stronger the rotational speed, the larger the temperature difference.
There are however difference explanations. see http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract;jsessionid=C9DB4E059D77B8D10A43A54DE9FABD14.tomcat1?fromPage=online&aid=389881
A few interesting backyard experiments can be found here:
http://pdbuchan.com/ranque-hilsch/ranque-hilsch.html
http://www.oberlin.edu/physics/catalog/demonstrations/thermo/vortextube.html
wiki has some comments regarding its applications if this is what you are after:
http://www.answers.com/vortex+tube?cat=technology
Using a different gas than air (say He) may change the efficiency of temperature separation. If so, my guess might be right.
I think this effect may help to save life if only compressed air is available in very cold places, such as in south pole.
my 2 cents...

yxjbuaa

下面引用由ycchen100在 2007/10/26 11:03am 发表的内容：
A first look to me to explain this phenomenon is simply the centrifugal force effect. Low density moleculars (hot gas) tend to move to the circumference of the "vortex tube" while high d ...

Considering the centrifugal force effect, the high density gas should migrate to the outer edge of a concentrated vortex. So, I think your explanations are not very convincing. Generally speaking, for leakage flow (such as the tip leakage flow in an rotating turbomachinery) the gases with high total energy (?total pressure) have the priority to flow through the clearance. So, I think the explanations on Wiki are much more appropriate.