Some people describe it as exciting as watching grass grow. Other people think it is the greatest thing they have ever seen.
What do you think?
Whatever your opinion, on any given day people around the globe – from Europe to Singapore to China and India – are watching, fascinated by the famous 88-year-old pitch-drop experiment being streamed online from The University of Queensland.
Students also crowd around the experiment’s glass cabinet in person at the University’s St Lucia campus in Brisbane, Australia, keen to be there when the next droplet forms.
The pitch drop experiment is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s longest-running laboratory experiment.
It is appropriate that it is housed in one of the world’s top 100 ranked universities.
The UQ School of Mathematics and Physics, which hosts the experiment, has an international reputation for cutting-edge research and innovative teaching in the disciplines of Mathematics, Physics and Statistics.
The first Professor of Physics at UQ, Professor Thomas Parnell, began the experiment in 1927 to illustrate that everyday materials can exhibit quite surprising properties.
The experiment demonstrates the fluidity and high viscosity of pitch, a derivative of tar once used for waterproofing boats. At room temperature pitch feels solid – even brittle – and can easily be shattered with a blow from a hammer.
It’s quite amazing then, to see that pitch at room temperature is actually fluid.
In 1927 Professor Parnell heated a sample of pitch and poured it into a glass funnel with a sealed stem.
Three years were allowed for the pitch to settle, and in 1930 the sealed stem was cut. From that date on the pitch has slowly dripped out of the funnel – so slowly that now, 88 years later, the ninth drop has only just formed.
To learn more about the pitch drop experiment, check out this dedicated site.
All enquiries regarding the experiment can be sent to pitchdrop@uq.edu.au
Science communicator Dr Andrew Stephenson has written an interesting article about the pitch drop experiment.
If you’re interested in more modern studies of physics at The University of Queensland, the University offers courses at undergraduate, honours, postgraduate coursework and postgraduate research levels.
In the Bachelor of Science program, you can complete a specialisation, whether a major, an extended major, or a dual major in physics.
You can tailor your Bachelor of Science program according to your interests and explore the flexibility to incorporate one third of your courses from other UQ programs.
Physics is at the heart of new interdisciplinary areas such as information technology, nanotechnology, quantum technology, and biophotonics.
In newly developing areas in the biosciences, an understanding of basic physics principles is one of the keys to advancing biological knowledge.
Your courses in physics will include astronomy, biophysics, electromagnetism, laser physics, mathematical physics, mechanics, optics, quantum physics and thermodynamics.
You can choose to follow the general courses stream and take electives to prepare you for most areas of physics including quantum information and quantum optics, condensed matter physics, biophotonics and laser science. Or you can choose to specialise in astronomy and astrophysics or mathematical physics.
You can also complete higher level degrees and work in research and development to increase scientific knowledge or applied research to develop new devices, products or processes.
To learn more about studying physics, the Bachelor of Science, or Bachelor of Science (Honours), or postgraduate science options at UQ jump online to the UQ Faculty of Science website.
If you’re a prospective international student, and want to study at UQ, you should apply directly to the International Admissions Section of The University of Queensland.
Or you can download the International UQ Study Guide 2016 as an app to instantly access UQ information – plus additional photos and videos not available elsewhere. Tap the App Store/Google Play Store icon on your smartphone or tablet to access.