Brownian motion

Noun

Brownian motion (countable and uncountable, plural Brownian motions)

1. (statistical mechanics) Random motion of particles suspended in a fluid, arising from those particles being struck by individual molecules of the fluid.
   • 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?2023, Robert M. Sapolsky, Determined: A Science of Life Without Free Will, New York: Penguin, →ISBN

   Synonyms:

   Brownian movement

2. Synonym of Wiener process.

   Synonyms:

   Wiener process

3. (idiomatic) A state of chaos or disarray.
   • The sun was hot on my legs. I moved out of the doorway and stood in the room with my thoughts in Brownian motion.2003, Robert Wilson, Instruments of Darkness, Harvest Books, →ISBN, page 255
   • 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.2007 November, Gil Schwartz, “Escape from the job monster”, in Men's Health, volume 22, number 9, →ISSN, page 122