One drop per 9 years

[zak]

One drop per 9 years
this is like playing chess one move per year, The World’s Longest Experiment begins in 1927 when a professor of physics at the University of Queensland Australia wanted to prove that tar pitch has the same character of a liquid at room temperature. the timeline for the drops:
Timeline



Date
Event
Duration (Months)
Duration (Years)


1927
Experiment set up


1930
The stem was cut


December 1938
1st drop fell
96–107
8.0–8.9


February 1947
2nd drop fell
99
8.3


April 1954
3rd drop fell
86
7.2


May 1962
4th drop fell
97
8.1


August 1970
5th drop fell
99
8.3


April 1979
6th drop fell
104
8.7


July 1988
7th drop fell
111
9.3


28 November 2000
8th drop fell
148
12.3


http://www.maxupdates.tv/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/World’s-Longest-Experiment.jpg

who of you born in one of those dates !!. and what is the time of the next drop??.
ref:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pitch_drop_experiment
http://www.maxupdates.tv/the-worlds-longest-experiment/

[kryton9]

Its taking longer and longer. The Vacuum case must have a microscopic leak and the tar is thickening?

[danbaron]

Why is the frog lying on his back in the beaker?

[zak]

it is not a frog, but i think (may be) because after the death of professor Thomas they put it in a closet and in 1961 they discovered it again, possibly while looking and holding the apparatus they move the beaker. yes this deserve more investigation.
look at another picture from wikipedia in a higher detail http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:University_of_Queensland_Pitch_drop_experiment-6-2.jpg

the froggy picture are from http://www.maxupdates.tv/the-worlds-longest-experiment/ and it is may be older than wikipedia picture. since in wikipedia there is a modern battery 9v beside the device. also the table are painted and not like the older table. this is bad they manipulate badly this historic experiment. thanks dan for your sharp observation.

[danbaron]

What he calls, "tar pitch", I think, we call, "tar".

He must have heated the tar, and then poured it into the glass funnel.

Then, I guess in 1930, he cut the closed end of the funnel's stem, and the experiment began.

He is saying that at room temperature, tar behaves as a liquid with a very high viscosity.

In that case, I think drops form, because of a phenomenon of liquids, called, "surface tension".

And, the time between drops should increase, as the downward pressure decreases - because the funnel is emptying.

I think at some point there should be equilibrium between the downward pressure and the surface tension.

Then, if I'm correct, that drop will never fall (you can see the same thing on water faucets).

Interestingly, the higher the temperature of the tar, the faster the experiment will go.

Apparently, at room temperature, it will take a long time until a drop hangs there forever.

(If I remember correctly, some people have said that glass also behaves as a liquid, with a very very high viscosity.)