The pitch drop experiment

1984/10/01 by R Edgeworth, B J Dalton, B. J. Dalton +2 · 109 citations
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Engineering · Physics and Astronomy · #Computer science #Drop (telecommunication) #Drop out #Engineering #Engineering physics #Geological and Geophysical Studies #Mechanical engineering #Mechanics #Physics #Scientific Research and Discoveries #Set (abstract data type) #Theoretical physics #Thermodynamics #Viscosity

paper · doi:10.1088/0143-0807/5/4/003

published in European Journal of Physics 5(4), 198-200 (IOP Publishing)

openalex publication_date 1984/10/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/06

Abstract

In the foyer of the Department of Physics at the University of Queensland in Brisbane is an experiment to illustrate, for teaching purposes, the fluidity and the very high viscosity of pitch, set up in 1927 by Professor Thomas Parnell, the first Professor of Physics there. An account is given of the experiment to illustrate the fluidity of pitch.

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