Zooming in on brownian motion with optical trapping microscopy

¹ The University of Texas at Austin, USA
² The University of Notre Dame, USA
³ Elementary school Dragutin Lerman, Brestovac, Croatia

Abstract

Optical trapping microscopy unravels open questions in statistical physics by making ultraprecise measurements of Brownian motion in diverse fluid environments. Moreover, the advent of pulsed lasers promises to push the boundaries even further, offering insights on how the compressibility of fluid flow affects Brownian particles at previously unexplored time scales.