Brownian Motion: Theory and Experiment:: A simple Classroom Measurement of the Diffusion Coefficient
| dc.creator | Basu, Kasturi | |
| dc.creator | Baishya, Kopinjol | |
| dc.date | 2003-03-16 | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2026-07-07T05:48:56Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2026-07-07T05:48:56Z | |
| dc.description | Brownian motion is the perpetual irregular motion exhibited by small particles immersed in a fluid. Such random motion of the particles is produced by statistical fluctuations in the collisions they suffer with the molecules of the surrounding fluid. Brownian motion of particles in a fluid (like milk particles in water) can be observed under a microscope. Here we describe a simple experimental set-up to observe Brownian motion and a method of determining the diffusion coefficient of the Brownian particles, based on a theory due to Smoluchowski. While looking through the microscope we focus attention on a fixed small volume, and record the number of particles that are trapped in that volume, at regular intervals of time. This gives us a time-series data, which is enough to determine the diffusion coefficient of the particles to a good degree of accuracy. | |
| dc.description | 5 pages, 4 figures | |
| dc.identifier | https://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0303064 | |
| dc.identifier | http://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0303064 | |
| dc.identifier | Resonance Vol. 8, No. 3, 71-80, March 2003 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://salesiana.dossiersoluciones.com/handle/123456789/85211 | |
| dc.subject | Physics Education | |
| dc.title | Brownian Motion: Theory and Experiment:: A simple Classroom Measurement of the Diffusion Coefficient | |
| dc.type | text |