Geekologie I Watch Stuff The Superficial

Longest Running Experiment Currently On 85th Year

January 25, 2012 / boring, coal, experiments, how the f*** has somebody not knocked that over in 85 years?, i've done a little experimenting in my day if you know what i mean (i'm talking sexually), interesting, neato, science, what's the battery doing there?, you've proved your point

longest-experiment.jpg

The world's longest running experiment was started by Thomas Parnell of the University of Queensland in 1927 to prove that tar pitch, a seemingly brittle coal derivative that can be shattered with a hammer at room temperature, is, in fact, a viscous fluid. FUN BONUS FACT: tar pitch is so dark it's the origin of the term "pitch-black"! Thomas melted the coal pitch, let it cool for three years, then placed it in a funnel. The first drop dripped eight years later, followed by another nine after that. Bored-out-of-their-f***ing-minds scientists are currently waiting for drip nine to drop like a stubborn turd. The world's shortest experiment? My peener. "That's not really an experiment." No? Maybe THIS will change your mind. "Stuffing it in a test tube?" Science, ladies and gentlemen!

World's Longest-Running Experiment of the Day [geeks.thedailywh.at]
and
FYI: How Long-Running Is the Longest-Running Lab Experiment? [popsci]

Thanks to Mark, who agrees I should change my name to Science. HA -- I already have.

  •
    Grainy: An Atom's Shadow Spotted For The First Time
    July 9, 2012
    This is a picture of the shadow cast by a single atom, captured by scientists for the first time. How did they do it? Science. Ooooooooor drew straws and the shortest had to sell their soul to the devil. Not worth it, bro! To get this to work, an atom of Ytterbium was cool... / Continue →
  • Blowing Out A Candle Makes Rainbows Appears
    December 8, 2011
    Did you know blowing out a candle makes 'lil rainbows in the smoke? Of course you did, they probably teach this shit in schools now. When I was in school we didn't learn anything about rainbows except RON J BIZ or whatever. Sea Moon's (Grover Schrayer's) Flickr (with a ton... / Continue →
  • What's My Recommended Daily Allowance?: New Mineral 'Wassonite' Discovered
    April 6, 2011
    Seen here looking suspiciously like a whale being eaten by a giant squid, recent research into an Antarctic meteorite discovered in 1969 (beer, sex, sin, wine -- we're the class of '69!) has revealed a new mineral with a unique crystalline structure, wassonite. Great, and righ... / Continue →
There are Comments

  • so is glass still the most viscous fluid out there? or does tar pitch take the cake?

  • Meifu

    Longest running experiment is the Human Race...

  • p_shep

  • So 85 years later and they still haven't haven't decided if it's a viscous fluid or not?

  • Jay

    whats the freekin 9V battery for?

  • Brian Lopez

    For scale

  • Scully1121

    Park Grass Experiment in the UK has been running for 155 years... Also
    nobody has ever actually seen a drop fall from the Pitch experiment.

  • We heard you the first time.

  • Scully1121

    Crappy commenting system... validation emails....clicking like a tard....grrrr

  • Scully1121

    Park Grass Experiment in the UK has been running for 155 years... Also
    nobody has ever actually seen a drop fall from the Pitch experiment.

  • Scully1121

    Park Grass Experiment in the UK has been running for 155 years... Also
    nobody has ever actually seen a drop fall from the Pitch experiment.

  • Scully1121

    Park Grass Experiment in the UK has been running for 155 years... Also nobody has ever actually seen a drop fall from the Pitch experiment.

  • NoveltyFishHead

    Yikes! I rather watch paint dry than this.

  • Does someone sit around and monitor this all day every day?

  • They have a camera fixed on it... now.  Not sure how they monitored it prior to filming, but I guess someone looked at it each day and said "oh wow, more has dropped off now".  I love taking my science students to see this, just for the history of it, and knowing that it was set up all those years ago.  But I didn't love lectures in the Parnell Building, with its uncomfortable chairs and distracting half-way up the wall door placement.

  • Back in the day, would-be scientists had to cut their teeth by taking the graveyard shift to watch this experiment.

blog comments powered by Disqus