Plant Chemistry:

The fundamental principles upon in that a gaseous diffusion plant is based are as given below.

1. All the particles (molecules, atoms, or ions) that make up the gas are continuously moving in straight lines in all locations.  The particles collide along with anything in their path (Example for other particles or the walls of the container), through altering the course of moving particles but not their average velocities.

2. All of the particles have the similar average kinetic energy.  Therefore, if the masses of the particles are different, then it must their velocities be different along with the lighter particles having the greater average velocities.

On the basis of the two principles begin above, if a quantity of gas is confined through a porous membrane or barrier, a few of the gas will escape by the pores in the barrier.  The lighter particles of the gas will have a greater tendency to diffuse through the barrier because of their greater average velocities if the confined gas is isotopic (a mixture of particles of different molecular weights). As a result, the gas that has passed by the barrier will be enriched in the light constituent although which gas that has not diffused by the barrier will be depleted within the light constituent.