Spontaneous separation of charged grains.

In 1867, Lord Kelvin described an experiment in which two streams of water droplets were connected so that each stream amplified the charge on the second stream [W. Thomson, Proc. R. Soc. London 16, 67 (1867)]. We present here a complementary effect in flowing grains that spontaneously separates similar and well-mixed grains into two charged streams of demixed grains. This effect has important consequences for industrial and natural processes.