3. HOW DOES A GRAVITY SEPARATOR WORK?
About 250 B.C., Archimedes discovered the law of specific gravity which is "All bodies floating in or submerged
in a liquid are buoyed up by a force exactly equal to the weight of the liquid they displace." The
specific gravity of a particle is the ratio of its density to some standard substance, the standard usually
employed being water with a specific gravity of one (1). In water, particles having a specific gravity of less
than 1 will float, and particles with a specific gravity greater than 1 will sink. The term "Gravity Separator" is a
contraction of the proper name "Specific Gravity Separator," which means, a separator of particles differing in
their specific gravities. All Gravity Separators use air as a weighing medium rather than water. Since air is
lighter than water, the relative difference between particles of differing weights is effectively increased. For
this reason, the Gravity Separator is a very sensitive machine, and when operated correctly, can produce a
very precise separation.