Recognised as the world's longest running laboratory study, the Pitch Drop experiment at The University of Queensland began in 1927, to demonstrate the fluidity of this seemingly solid and brittle substance. The pitch was placed in a sealed funnel, and in 1930 was unsealed to allow pitch to 'drip' out into a container below. With a viscosity 100 billion times that of water, it's not surprising that in the past 83 years only eight drops have been recorded. Professor John Mainstone, who oversaw the experiment for the last 52 years, passed away on the 23rd August, 2013, having never seen a drop fall.
Here is a lovely futuristic webcomic (click the image to enlarge) by Maki Naro, celebrating the deeper meaning behind the Pitch Drop experiment, and including a quote from Prof. Mainstone in the sixth panel.
Here is a lovely futuristic webcomic (click the image to enlarge) by Maki Naro, celebrating the deeper meaning behind the Pitch Drop experiment, and including a quote from Prof. Mainstone in the sixth panel.
Webcomic via Sci-ənce
