Brownian Motion
Produced by the National STEM Centre and the Institute of Physics, this video illustrates how to show the movement of particles by Brownian motion.
Instead of using the traditional smoke cell, the video shows how Brownian motion can be observed in a suspension containing micrometre diameter polystyrene spheres. Using a microscope and video camera, students can observe the motion of the polystyrene spheres.
The video also shows how Brownian motion can be simulated using a vibrating loudspeaker, table tennis balls and a small balloon.
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Resource author
Resource by: National STEM Centre
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The resource is part of National STEM Centre,Institute of Physics
- Physics Demonstration Films
- Brownian Motion
The resource is part of British Science Association,National Science & Engineering Week
- National Science & Engineering Week
- Brownian Motion
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Comments
Nice clear demo. Only drawback is that it's with a liquid. Students have less of a problem with the idea of particles in a liquid sitting together, bobbling about (although some took a bit of persuading that the larger particle wasn't just floating on the water as the balloon is on the table tennis balls) than particles in a gas flying all around, which the smoke cell (tedioius & fiddly to set up) does.
The (Whitley Bay) smoke cell takes a bit of practice to get to work. Although there is a certain amount of mystique in having the students troop through the darkened prep room to look down the microscope at the smoke particles, I think that this demo is more useful.