A blob of pitch will drop through a funnel and into a beaker – only the ninth time this has happened since 1927, when the experiment was set up.
The first Professor of Physics at the University of Queensland, Professor Thomas Parnell, set out to show that everyday materials can exhibit surprising properties.
At room temperature pitch feels solid and can easily be shattered with a blow from a hammer. But since he placed a sample in a glass funnel with a sealed stem, eight drops of it have fallen, showing that pitch is actually fluid.
So guess what? The ninth drip is imminent, and you can watch it right here: http://smp.uq.edu.au/content/pitch-drop-experiment
Pitch Drop Timelapse Video (10 seconds) from School of Mathematics & Physics on Vimeo.
