Vacuum centrifuge and method

A method for operating a vacuum centrifuge using a vacuum centrifuge having a housing, a vacuum chamber which is disposed in the housing and is connected to a vacuum pump via a suction line system in order to generate a desired vacuum in the vacuum chamber, a rotor, which is mounted rotatably about its rotor axis in the vacuum chamber and is provided with sample container receptacles for the introduction of sample containers into the sample container receptacles, a cover which is disposed on the housing, closes the vacuum chamber in a vacuum-tight manner and, in the open state, frees the rotor sufficiently to enable loading and unloading of the rotor with sample containers, a drive motor for the rotor, which is disposed outside the vacuum chamber and is coupled to the rotor in the vacuum chamber for transmission of the driving torque as part of a first drive mechanism, which rotor is designed as a rotor of a dual centrifuge in such a way that the rotor has a rotor head which is provided with at least one rotary unit with at least one sample container receptacle disposed at a distance from the rotor axis, wherein only one drive motor is provided, wherein a speed of the rotor and/or the rotary unit which changes during centrifugation continuously, or a constant speed of the rotor and a constant speed of the rotary unit, a fixed ratio of the rotor speed to the rotary unit speed.