sedimentation coefficient


sedimentation coefficient

[‚sed·ə·mən′tā·shən ‚kō·i′fish·ənt] (physical chemistry) In the sedimentation of molecules in an accelerating field, such as that of a centrifuge, the velocity of the boundary between the solution containing the molecules and the solvent divided by the accelerating field. (In the case of a centrifuge, the accelerating field equals the distance of the boundary from the axis of rotation multiplied by the square of the angular velocity in radians per second.)