  We study the stratified gas in a rapidly rotating centrifuge as a model for
the Earth's atmosphere. Based on methods of perturbation theory, it is shown
that in certain regimes, internal waves in the gas centrifuge have the same
dispersion relation to leading order as their atmospheric siblings. Assuming an
air filled centrifuge with a radius of circa 50 cm, the optimal rotational
frequency for realistic atmosphere-like waves is around 10 000 rounds per
minute. Using gases of lower heat capacities at constant pressure, like xenon,
the rotational frequencies can be even halved to obtain the same results.
Similar to the atmosphere, it is feasible in the gas centrifuge to generate a
clear scale separation of wave frequencies and therefore phase speeds between
acoustic waves and internal waves. In addition to the centrifugal force, the
Coriolis force acts in the same plane. However, its influence on axially
homogeneous internal waves appears only as a higher-order correction. We
conclude that the gas centrifuge provides an unprecedented opportunity to
investigate atmospheric internal waves experimentally with a compressible
working fluid.
