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Brownian Motion
© Copyright 2002, Jim Loy
Brownian motion is the random motion of a molecule, or
other very light object. It is observed when the object is big enough to see,
as a speck of dust in a light beam, either in air or in water. The speck of
dust in air is being struck at random by molecules of air, and keeps changing
direction because of that. This was studied by Robert Brown in 1827, and was
explained by Albert Einstein in 1905. On the left and right, we see
two-dimensional simulations of Brownian motion (from A to B in both diagrams),
performed by Geometer's Sketchpad.
Brownian motion is also called the drunkard's walk.
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