Electrical Noise, Brownian Motion and the Arrow of Time

Abstract

The origin of the Johnson noise of resistors is reviewed by a new model fitting in the Fluctuation-Dissipation framework and compared with the velocity noise in Brownian motion. This new model handling both fluctuations as well as dissipations of electrical energy in the Complex Admittance of any resistor excels current model based on the dissipation in their conductance. From the two orthogonal currents associated to a sinusoidal voltage in an electrical admittance, the new model that also considers the discreteness of the electrical charge shows a Cause-Effect dynamics for electrical noise. After a brief look at systems considered as energy-conserving and deterministic on the microscale that are dissipative and unpredictable on the macroscale, the arrow of time is discussed from the noise viewpoint.