Thursday, 20 March 2025

Brownian motion, as observed in liquids and gases on Earth, results from the random collisions of molecules. On the surface of the Sun (the photosphere), the extreme temperature (~5,500°C) and intense plasma dynamics create turbulent motion, but it’s not quite Brownian motion for a few key reasons:

  1. Plasma, not a Normal Fluid – The Sun’s surface isn't a gas or liquid in the usual sense; it's a plasma where charged particles interact with strong magnetic fields, leading to complex, structured movements rather than random molecular collisions.

  2. Convective Granulation – The Sun's surface is dominated by granulation, where hot plasma rises in convective cells, cools, and sinks back down. This process creates structured, non-random flows rather than pure Brownian motion.

  3. Magnetic Fields Structure Motion – The Sun’s magnetic field organizes much of the plasma motion into loops, prominences, and flares, which are far from the stochastic jostling seen in Brownian motion.

  4. Photons Undergo a Kind of Random Walk (Deep Inside) – Deeper in the Sun, photons undergo radiative diffusion, where they scatter off particles in a manner that resembles a random walk (like Brownian motion), but this happens in the dense radiative zone, not on the surface.

So, Is There Any Brownian Motion?

If we define Brownian motion strictly as random motion due to molecular collisions, then no, because the Sun’s surface dynamics are governed by large-scale forces, including convection and magnetism. However, small-scale turbulent motion might still exhibit some statistical similarities to Brownian motion at certain scales, but it wouldn't be the dominant mode of motion.

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