Brownian Motion

Brownian motion is a phenomena whereby small particles suspended in a liquid tend to move in psuedo-random or stochastic paths through the liquid, even if the liquid in question is calm. It is the result of asymmetry in the kinetic impacts of molecules that make up the liquid. The liquid phase, by definition, must have some temperature, meaning its molecules or atoms must be thermally excited, bumping into each other and objects suspended within them. To idealize Brownian motion, imagine the motion of golf balls on a table filled with thousands of ball bearings moving in quick trajectories.

When sol is examined with an ultramicrosope, the suspended particles are seen as shining specks of light. By following an individual particle, it is observed that the particle is undergoing a constant rapid motion. It moves in a series short straight line paths in the medium, changing direction abruptly.

The continuous rapid zig-zag chaotic random and ceaseless movement executed by a colloidal particle in the dispersion medium is called brownian movement. This is due to the unbalanced bombardment of the particles by the molecules of the dispersion medium.

The phrase Brownian motion can also refer to mathematical models used to describe the phenomenon, which have considerable detail and are used as approximations of other stochastic motion patterns. Mathematical Brownian motion is related to, but more structured than, the random walk, in which the displacement of a particle is entire randomized. Brownian motion has the Markov property, a term from probability theory which means that the future state of the particle is determined entirely by its current state, not by any past state. Used in this sense, Brownian motion is a mathematical concept, slightly different, but very similar to physical Brownian motion.

The scientist who made Brownian motion famous is Albert Einstein, who brought the phenomenon to the attention of the larger physics community by publishing a paper on it in 1905, his personal annus mirabilis or "wonderful year." The phenomenon was observed as early as 1765, but not described or studied in detail until the botanist Robert Brown's research in 1827. Brownian motion is named in honor of his work. As a botanist, Brown first observed the effect in pollen floating in water, where it is visible with the naked eye. Through experimentation, Brown determined that the specks of pollen were not propelling themselves independently, but rather that their motion was psuedo-random.

Jean Perrin, a French physicist who later won the Nobel prize, springboarded off of Einstein's work. Using Brownian motion as evidence, he proved in 1911, once and for all, that matter is made of atoms and molecules. Although atomic theory is originally credited to John Dalton, the 18th- and 19th-century British physicist, it was under dispute for over a century, and it was Perrin's work - and Brownian motion - that resulted in its universal acceptance.