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Pitch drop experiment

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Pitch drop experiment

A pitch drop experiment is a long-term experiment which measures the flow of a piece of pitch over many years. "Pitch" is the name for any of a number of highly viscous liquids which appear solid, most commonly bitumen, also known as asphalt. At room temperature, tar pitch flows at a very low rate, taking several years to form a single drop.

Tables

· University of Queensland experiment › Timeline
Years
Years
Date
Years
Event
Months
Duration
Bar chart
1927
1927
Date
1927
Event
Hot pitch poured
October 1930
October 1930
Date
October 1930
Event
Stem cut
December 1938
December 1938
Date
December 1938
Event
1st drop fell
Duration
8.1
Duration
98
February 1947
February 1947
Date
February 1947
Event
2nd drop fell
Duration
8.2
Duration
99
April 1954
April 1954
Date
April 1954
Event
3rd drop fell
Duration
7.2
Duration
86
May 1962
May 1962
Date
May 1962
Event
4th drop fell
Duration
8.1
Duration
97
August 1970
August 1970
Date
August 1970
Event
5th drop fell
Duration
8.3
Duration
99
April 1979
April 1979
Date
April 1979
Event
6th drop fell
Duration
8.7
Duration
104
July 1988
July 1988
Date
July 1988
Event
7th drop fell
Duration
9.2
Duration
111
November 2000
November 2000
Date
November 2000
Event
8th drop fell
Duration
12.3
Duration
148
April 2014
April 2014
Date
April 2014
Event
9th drop fell
Duration
13.4
Duration
161
Date
Event
Duration
Years
Months
Bar chart
1927
Hot pitch poured
October 1930
Stem cut
December 1938
1st drop fell
8.1
98
February 1947
2nd drop fell
8.2
99
April 1954
3rd drop fell
7.2
86
May 1962
4th drop fell
8.1
97
August 1970
5th drop fell
8.3
99
April 1979
6th drop fell
8.7
104
July 1988
7th drop fell
9.2
111
November 2000
8th drop fell
12.3
148
April 2014
9th drop fell
13.4
161

References

  1. After the 7th drop, air conditioning was installed, lowering the average temperature.
  2. 12 April 2014: 9th drop touched 8th drop; 24 April 2014: 9th drop separated from funnel during beaker change.
  3. BBC News
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-28402709
  4. New Scientist
    https://books.google.com/books?id=siZ1j_5wdqwC&pg=PA38
  5. European Journal of Physics
    https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0143-0807/5/4/003
  6. The Australian
    https://web.archive.org/web/20130406075404/http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/features/pitch-fever/story-e6frg8h6-1226613215795
  7. Just a drip – but what great timing, Sydney Morning Herald, 16 July 1988, page 3.
    https://www.newspapers.com/clip/113380954/
  8. "The Pitch Drop Experiment"
    https://web.archive.org/web/20130328064508/http://www.physics.uq.edu.au/physics_museum/pitchdrop.shtml
  9. The University of Queensland Australia: School of Mathematics and Physics
    http://smp.uq.edu.au/content/pitch-drop-experiment
  10. The 2005 Ig Nobel prize winners. Improbable Research. Retrieved 6 July 2013.
    http://improbable.com/ig/winners/#ig2005
  11. "A Comment from Professor Mainstone"
    https://web.archive.org/web/20121115170011/http://smp.uq.edu.au/content/comment-professor-mainstone
  12. "The Tenth Watch for the ninth Pitch Drop"
    http://www.thetenthwatch.com/
  13. New York Post
    http://www.nypost.com/p/news/international/professor_never_charge_event_famous_AKmMGqJi1lfJ0J3xbxW8fJ
  14. Brisbane Times
    https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/queensland/pitch-drop-has-new-custodian-after-physicists-death-20130827-2sne4.html
  15. "Pitch drop touches down – oh so gently"
    http://www.uq.edu.au/news/article/2014/04/pitch-drop-touches-down-%E2%80%93-oh-so-gently
  16. Newser
    https://web.archive.org/web/20140418191701/http://www.newser.com/story/185539/big-news-in-worlds-longest-experiment.html
  17. "Explainer: the pitch drop experiment"
    https://theconversation.com/explainer-the-pitch-drop-experiment-33734
  18. "Pitch Drop Experiment enters an exciting new era"
    http://www.uq.edu.au/news/article/2014/04/pitch-drop-experiment-enters-exciting-new-era
  19. Nature
    http://www.nature.com/news/world-s-slowest-moving-drop-caught-on-camera-at-last-1.13418
  20. "Trinity College experiment succeeds after 69 years"
    https://www.rte.ie/news/2013/0717/463097-trinity-college-dublin-pitch-experiment/
  21. The Atlantic
    https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/07/the-3-most-exciting-words-in-science-right-now-the-pitch-dropped/277919/
  22. Youtube
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZpfGIvKXmY
  23. "Experiment reaches delicate pitch"
    https://www.uq.edu.au/news/article/1999/02/experiment-reaches-delicate-pitch
  24. New Scientist
    https://books.google.com/books?id=74PgZAHPw38C&pg=PA32
  25. "The drop heard round the world"
    http://physicsworld.com/cws/article/indepth/2014/may/01/the-drop-heard-round-the-world
  26. National Museums Scotland
    https://www.nms.ac.uk/explore-our-collections/collection-search-results/?item_id=205915
  27. National Museums Scotland
    https://www.nms.ac.uk/discover-catalogue/pitch-drop-one-of-the-longest-demonstrations-in-the-world
  28. Physics in Perspective
    https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2006PhP.....8..451J
  29. Scientific Papers: physics, chemistry, astronomy, geology, with introductions, notes and illustrations - Volume XXX
    https://archive.org/details/scientificpapers0030unse/page/276/mode/2up?q=pitch
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