Brownian motion
Americannoun
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The random movement of microscopic particles suspended in a liquid or gas, caused by collisions between these particles and the molecules of the liquid or gas. This movement is named for its identifier, Scottish botanist Robert Brown (1773–1858).
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See also kinetic theory
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Brownian motion was first explained by the twentieth-century physicist Albert Einstein, who considered it direct proof of the existence of atoms.
Etymology
Origin of Brownian motion
1870–75; Brown + -ian
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Since the motion of the skyrmion is due to temperature-dependent Brownian motion, which is disorderly in nature, this is an interesting case of getting an orderly result through disordered motion.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 13, 2024
Though debate continued for decades, the correct answer came from botanist Robert Brown, for whom Brownian motion was named.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 21, 2023
He calculated exactly how a microscopic, but visible, particle should behave if it was bumping into unseen atoms—a phenomenon called Brownian motion.
From Scientific American ● Oct. 5, 2018
Most scientists were already convinced of the existence of atoms, but the accurate observation and analysis of Brownian motion was conclusive—it was the first truly direct evidence.
From Textbooks ● Aug. 12, 2015
Clumps and clusters of birds in flight were questing back and forth, black dots against the blue sky, moving in some kind of desperate Brownian motion.
From "American Gods" by Neil Gaiman
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
