Posted on 07/22/2013 7:01:13 AM PDT by Red Badger
The Pitch Drop experiment set up in 1944 at Trinity College Dublin's School of Physics is one of the world's oldest continuously running experiments.
The experiment was established to demonstrate that pitch is a material that flows, albeit with an incredibly high viscosity hence extremely slowly. Also known as asphalt or bitumen, pitch appears to be solid at room temperature.
Whilst pitch has been dropping from the funnel in Trinity since 1944, nobody had ever witnessed a drop fall. It happens roughly only once in a decade.
In May of this year, with the latest drop about to fall, Professor Shane Bergin broadcast the experiment via the web. On July 11th, the drop dripped. You can see a time lapse video of this here.
Tracking the evolution of the drop, Professor Denis Weaire and Professor Stefan Hutzler, and David Whyte calculated the viscosity of the pitch to be 2x107 Pa s, approximately 2 million times the viscosity of honey.
Commenting on the significance of the demonstration, Professor Shane Bergin stated: "People love this experiment because it gets to the heart of what good science is all about – curiosity. Over these past few months, there has been constant chat about when the drip would drop. I watched the time lapse video of the pitch drop falling over and over again. I was amazed. This was the first time this phenomenon was ever witnessed!"
The School of Physics at Trinity College Dublin has many old demonstrations and ancient experimental kit. The Pitch Drop experiment was begun when Nobel Prize winner Earnest Walton was head of the department.
The University of Queensland have a similar experiment that was begun in 1927. The Guinness Book of World Records ranks this as the world's longest running experiment. Whilst 8 drops have fallen in this experiment, nobody has ever witnessed one fall.
Whilst it will be roughly another 10 years before the next drop falls, you can look at the live experiment here.
That’s difference without a distinction...............
grrr ! heresy ! punishment = may only watch american league games the rest of the season !
AAA League.................
LOL
Recent science says glass flowing that is a myth.
Whatever.
I would like to meet the scientist who was able to pitch that idea for as grant! :-)
I think they are all dead by now...............
Imagine, they started doing this essential and monumental experiment while bombs were dropping on London and D-Day was in progress.
Depends on how fast the ball is thrown, how the pitcher grips the ball, the release, etc. I’ve seen Nolan Ryan’s fastball rise in slow motion as it approaches the plate, and batters swing under it.
Oh? Not about baseball? Nevermind!
“2x107 Pa s
“Any reason it’s not expressed as 214 Pa s?”
The actual number is 20,000,000. The person typing didn’t know how to insert a superscript.
The drop missed is expressed with a chorus of sighs of relief that the grant can now continue for another 10 years.
Bah, I’ve seen Post Office employees that moved slower.
Probably because they meant 2X10^7 Pa S.
As in 20,000,000, not 214.
...and may well yet again before the experiment is finished........
Scary Thought, but not implausible.
The year 2147:
Undergraduate student: Professor, I cleaned up that dirty old bell jar over in the corner for you. It had some really tough crud on the inside......
Professor: [Looks down at floor, shakes head and puts face in both palms]...............
ha Ha Ha!
That is REALLY Funny!
Thanks. I needed that.
You are a droppist! Off with your head!
Paint dries a lot faster. The technology used to record the drop wasn’t invented when this experiment started .
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