Brownian motion of sol particles under ultramicroscopes and for bigger particles even under ordinary microscopes. The Brownian motion becomes progressively less prominent, as the particles grow in size or the viscosity of the medium increases. Brownian motion of sol particles Colloidal particles in a sol are continuously bombarded by the molecules of the dispersion medium on all sides. The impacts are however not equal in every direction. As a result, the sol particles show random or zig-zag movements. This random or zig-zag motion of the colloidal particles in a sol is called Brownian motion or Brownian movement. The phenomenon of Brownian motion was observed by
Brownian motor at the nanometer scale. The term "Brownian motor" was originally coined by Peter Hänggi in 1995: A distinct feature of a Brownian motor is—in contrast to a molecular motor—that the output response is typically coupled only loosely to the input perturbation and action of fluctuations. In biology, many protein-based molecular motors in the cell may in fact be Brownian motors. These molecular motors convert the chemical energy present in ATP into mechanical energy. One example of a Brownian motor would be an ATPase motor that hydrolyzes ATP to generate fluctuating anisotropic energetic potentials. The anisotropic potentials along the path would