Cross-Medium Extension of the Full-Penetration Electrostatic Guidance Particle Sorting Principle: Implementation in Liquid and Vacuum Environments

Prior research introduced the "full-penetration electrostatic guidance particle bifurcation unit" and a dielectrophoretic spectrum sorting network, which achieved precision dry powder classification in a still air medium based on the philosophy of "gravity-primary, electrostatic-auxiliary." Its core relies on the principle of dielectrophoresis, employing a pulsed DC electric field to exert a lateral deflection force on polarized particles, and introducing pulse-frequency temporal gating to realize dielectrophoretic spectrum sorting of particles of identical size but different materials. This paper extends the underlying physical architecture to liquid media and vacuum environments. In liquid media, by matching the dielectric constants of the liquid and the particles, bidirectional positive and negative dielectrophoresis sorting can be flexibly realized; through suppressing leakage current, eliminating electrolytic bubbles, and controlling electrothermal effects, the effectiveness of the pulsed dielectrophoretic spectrum mechanism in the liquid phase is ensured. In a vacuum environment, by exploiting the characteristics of zero medium damping and no risk of discharge breakdown, ultra-high inertia differential sorting under extremely clean conditions can be achieved. Targeted engineering solutions for each medium environment are proposed, and a modular sorting platform capable of cross-medium operation is conceived. This extension elevates the full-penetration electrostatic guidance sorting from a gas-specific device to a medium-independent, fundamental physical sorting paradigm, significantly expanding its application boundaries.