Brownian motion

English

Named after Scottish botanist Robert Brown (1773–1858), who investigated the movement of pollen suspended in water.

Brownian motion (countable and uncountable, plural Brownian motions)

(statistical mechanics) Random motion of particles suspended in a fluid, arising from those particles being struck by individual molecules of the fluid.
- 2023, Robert M. Sapolsky, Determined: A Science of Life Without Free Will, New York: Penguin, →ISBN:
  To summarize, the world is filled with instances of indeterministic Brownian motion, with various biological phenomena having evolved to optimally exploit versions of this randomness. Are we talking free will here?
(idiomatic) A state of chaos or disarray.
- 2003, Robert Wilson, Instruments of Darkness, Harvest Books, →ISBN, page 255:
  The sun was hot on my legs. I moved out of the doorway and stood in the room with my thoughts in Brownian motion.
- 2007 November, Gil Schwartz, “Escape from the job monster”, in Men's Health, volume 22, number 9, →ISSN, page 122:
  That's pretty much what I'm doing here today—asking you, right now, to sit down, take a deep breath, and stop. Try to see a future beyond that Brownian motion of your daily affairs.

random motion of particles suspended in a fluid

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