The World's Longest-Running Lab Experiment: A Century of Patience and Precision
The World's Longest-Running Lab Experiment is an ongoing testament to the power of patience and precision in science. It has been running continuously for nearly a century, under the watchful eyes of several custodians and many spectators, and it's ever so slowly dripping away. But here's where it gets controversial...
In 1927, physicist Thomas Parnell at the University of Queensland in Australia filled a closed funnel with the world's thickest known fluid: pitch, a derivative of tar that was once used to seal ships against the seas. Three years later, in 1930, Parnell cut the funnel's stem, heralding the start of the Pitch Drop Experiment. From then on, the black substance began to flow, albeit very, very slowly.
At room temperature, pitch might look solid, but it is actually a fluid 100 billion times more viscous than water. It took eight years for the first droplet to finally hit the beaker below. Then, they dripped at a cadence of once every eight years or so, slowing down only after air conditioning was installed in the building in the 1980s. Today, 96 years after the funnel was cut, only nine drops have seeped out. The last was in 2014.
Scientists expect another to fall sometime in the 2020s, but they are still waiting. No one has ever actually seen a droplet fall directly, despite all the watchful eyes. The experiment is now live-streamed, but various glitches in the past meant that each fateful moment has slipped us by. After Parnell, fellow physicist John Mainstone took over caretaking duties in 1961. Sadly, both died without ever seeing a droplet fall with their own two eyes.
Mainstone was custodian for 52 years. In 2000, he missed a drop because a thunderstorm disrupted the live feed. He passed away just a few months before the next drop oozed out in April 2014. Physics professor Andrew White is the third and current custodian of the pitch drop experiment, keeping vigil for the long-awaited 10th drop.
The world's longest-running lab experiment has barely begun. But this is the part most people miss... What if the experiment were to continue for another century? What if the 10th drop never comes? These are the questions that keep the scientific community and the public alike intrigued and engaged. And this is the part most people miss... The experiment is not just about the science; it's about the human element of patience, dedication, and the will to persevere. So, what do you think? Will the 10th drop ever fall? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
