SEMINAR INFORMATION

Title: WHAT EINSTEIN DID NOT KNOW: BROWNIAN MOTION THEN AND NOW

Speaker: Ralf Metzler*

*Potsdam University, Germany

Einstein, Smoluchowski, and Langevin created the framework to understand Brownian motion in the early 20th century. Their theories laid the foundation for modern statistical physics, but, along with ever improved experiments, were also key in establishing the atomistic theory of matter. Today, experimental methods allow scientists to monitor the diffusive motion of even single molecules in complex environments such as living biological cells. The wealth of new insights coming from experiment and supercomputing studies stimulate new conceptual understanding of these processes and represent a vigorous field of modern physics. In my talk I will provide an historical overview of Brownian motion and then present some of the recent developments.