ABSTRACT
In 1828 the English botanist R. Brown published his observations on the move ment of microscopically small organic and inorganic particles in liquids. (Origi nally he was only interested in the behaviour of pollen in liquids in order to inves tigate the fructification process of phanerogams.) He observed that, independent of their nature, the particles moved in a permanent, apparently irregular way. Hence Brown initially supposed that he had found an elementary form of life which is common to all particles. Although the strange movement of particles in liquids had already been detected before Brown, it is generally called Brownian motion.
