The Mysterious and Unpredicted Patterns of Pitch Behavior

It might be hard to believe, but pitch, one of the thickest substances known to man that appears solid at room temperature and can shatter upon impact, is classified as an amorphously structured liquid. This peculiar property owes itself to the molecular structure of pitch that allows it to flow at prolonged rates under normal conditions. This mind-boggling pitch behavior was first observed in Professor Thomas Parnell's well-documented 'Pitch Drop Experiment' at the University of Queensland in Australia around 1927. His experiment consisted of filling a seated glass funnel with heated tar pitch and allowing it to cool and settle for three years. The stem underneath this setup was then cut open, enabling the pitch inside to start 'flowing.' However, due to the high viscosity of the pitch, one droplet takes, on average, about ten years to fall from the funnel's opening. One drop fell in December 2000 when no one was watching but was caught on a time-lapse video. Another drop started forming then but did not fall until April 17th, 2014 - an interval nearly fourteen years long! Ultimately, this experiment has become one of the longest-running laboratory tests recorded in history, proving how seemingly static materials have dynamism hidden within their microstructures. It's astonishing to conclude that this quasi-solid substance is flowing extraordinarily slowly! For more about this fascinating subject, check out these literary sources: Memoirs (Proceedings) - Queensland Branch - Australian Institute Thomas Parnell biography: You Wouldn't Want To Be Sir Isaac Newton! (ISBN-13 : 978-1910184872) University of Queensland materials: https://smp.uq.edu.au/about/physics-museum/pitch-drop-experiment.