Abstract Polonium is distilled from bismuth under vacuum in a pot provided with a cover carrying a condenser which is positioned inside the pot. The condenser is filled with a liquid metal heat transfer medium in which heating elements and cooling elements are immersed. During distillation, the condenser is cooled and polonium freezes on it. The vacuum is then broken and the cover, with the attached condenser, is removed and carried to a receptacle, which may be another still pot. The condenser is then heated, melting the polonium. The polonium may be redistilled any desired number of times and further purified by chemical separation and/or solvent extraction. The apparatus may be used for the distillation of other metals.
Apparatus for the distillation of metals comprising a still pot, means for heating said still pot, a cover closing said still pot and removable therefrom, a condenser mounted on the inside of said cover and extending into said still pot, said condenser comprising a shell, liquid metal filling said shell, and heating and cooling elements immersed in said liquid metal.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
60 words
Apparatus for the distillation of metals comprising a still pot, means for heating said still pot, a cover closing said still pot and removable therefrom, a condenser mounted on the inside of said cover and extending into said still pot, said condenser comprising a shell, liquid metal filling said shell, and heating and cooling elements immersed in said liquid metal.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
29 words
Apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein the heating means immersed in said liquid metal is an electrical resistance heater and said cooling means is a conduit for fluid.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
15 words
Apparatus as defined in claim 1 and further comprising means for evacuating said still pot.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
37 words
Apparatus as defined in claim 3 wherein said still pot is an elongated cylinder mounted for rotation about an axis transverse to its own axis, and further comprising means to tilt said still pot to various positions.