Phys. Rev. Lett. 97, 230601 (2006) [4 pages]Measurement of the Translational and Rotational Brownian Motion of Individual Particles in a Rarefied GasReceived 2 August 2006; published 4 December 2006 We measured the free Brownian motion of individual spherical and the Brownian rotation of individual nonspherical micrometer-sized particles in rarefied gas. Measurements were done with high spatial and temporal resolution under microgravity conditions in the Bremen drop tower so that the transition from diffusive to ballistic motion could be resolved. We find that the translational and rotational diffusion can be described by the relation given by Uhlenbeck and Ornstein [ Phys. Rev. 36 823 (1930)]. Measurements of rotational Brownian motion can be used for the determination of the moments of inertia of small particles. © 2006 The American Physical Society URL:
http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.97.230601
DOI:
10.1103/PhysRevLett.97.230601
PACS:
05.40.Jc, 47.45.Ab, 47.50.Ef
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