A centrifuge could be used to separate the water from a sample of blood in order to study the solids that remain. The sample of blood would be placed in a small vial. The vial is then inserted into a well of the centrifuge. When the centrifuge is turned on, it spins rapidly. Thus, the centrifuge uses centripetal force to separate the contents. Materials that are denser have greater inertia. The denser the material, the less responsive it is to the centripetal force. As a result of this difference in inertia and centripetal force imposed on objects of different densities, the blood sample housed in the vial is separated into different “layers” once the centrifuge is turned off. The less-dense plasma and other liquids in blood, such as water, will be found towards the top of the vial. The more-dense red blood cells will be located towards the bottom of the vial.
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