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From video: Why Do We ACTUALLY Believe Atoms Exist?
Published: January 10, 2026

Video Description

Head to https://squarespace.com/physicsexplained to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain using code PHYSICSEXPLAINED In 1905, Albert Einstein used the seemingly random motion of tiny particles suspended in a liquid to resolve a centuries-old question: are atoms real? By analysing Brownian motion statistically, Einstein showed that the wandering of a visible particle contains direct evidence for the existence of invisible molecules. In this video, we follow his original reasoning and see how random motion became a quantitative proof of the atomic nature of matter. References & Further Reading Albert Einstein (1905) Investigations on the Theory of the Brownian Movement (Original papers on Brownian motion, diffusion, and molecular reality) Jean Perrin (1909) Brownian Movement and Molecular Reality (Experimental confirmation of Einstein’s theory and measurement of Avogadro’s constant) Ronald Newburgh, Joseph Peidle, Wolfgang Rueckner (2006) Einstein, Perrin, and the Reality of Atoms: 1905 Revisited American Journal of Physics 74, 478–484 M. D. Haw (2002) Colloidal Suspensions, Brownian Motion, and Molecular Reality: A Short History Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter 14, 7769–7779 Abraham Pais (1982) Subtle Is the Lord: The Science and the Life of Albert Einstein (Historical and conceptual background) 🤝 Support the channel Patreon → https://www.patreon.com/physicsexplained (Your support helps fund research time, visuals, and high-quality explanations) 🔗 Follow me Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/physics_explained_ig X (Twitter) → https://twitter.com/PhysicsExplain1