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Thread: One drop per 9 years

  1. #1

    One drop per 9 years

    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


    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/
    Last edited by zak; 28-02-2012 at 08:37.

  2. #2
    thinBasic MVPs kryton9's Avatar
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    Its taking longer and longer. The Vacuum case must have a microscopic leak and the tar is thickening?

  3. #3
    thinBasic MVPs danbaron's Avatar
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    Why is the frog lying on his back in the beaker?

    "You can't cheat an honest man. Never give a sucker an even break, or smarten up a chump." - W.C.Fields

  4. #4
    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:Un...riment-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.

  5. #5
    thinBasic MVPs danbaron's Avatar
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    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.)

    Last edited by danbaron; 29-02-2012 at 08:19.
    "You can't cheat an honest man. Never give a sucker an even break, or smarten up a chump." - W.C.Fields

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