PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Nature of solids and liquids explored through new pitch drop experiment

Nature of solids and liquids explored through new pitch drop experiment
2014-07-02
(Press-News.org) VIDEO: The movie clip shows the bitumen flow from the top camera view, and corresponds to approximately 24 days of real time.
Click here for more information.

Physicists at Queen Mary University of London have set up a new pitch drop experiment for students to explore the difference between solid and liquids.

Known as the 'world's longest experiment', the set up at the University of Queensland was famous for taking ten years for a drop of pitch – a thick, black, sticky material – to fall from a funnel.

Publishing in the journal Physics Education, the design of QMUL's trial is different to both well-known pitch drop experiments*. It uses different bitumen (the pitch), which is 30 times less viscous than the Queensland experiment, so that the flow can be seen quicker.

The team have installed not one but five different glass tubes with varying diameters to give five speeds of flow, and set up web cameras to catch the drop in action.

"We're using the pitch drop experiment to inspire our students and make them question the fundamental nature between solids and liquids," said Kostya Trachenko, lead author and Reader at QMUL's School of Physics and Astronomy.

"Because our experimental set-up is unique, we have proof that apparent solids like bitumen can flow over long time scales – in this case, one academic year."

Undergraduate students Amy Widdicombe and Prathisan Ravindrarajah measured the flow of bitumen during a summer project.

Dr Trachenko added: "The experiment highlights and contrasts the conflict between human experience and intuition on one hand and physical reality on the other: the conflict exists in several notable areas of physics. The experiment goes to the heart of modern physics and is awe-inspiring in terms of potential timescales. For example, our calculations demonstrate that familiar silica glass would take much longer than the age of the universe to flow."

INFORMATION: *There are pitch drop experiments running at the University of Queensland and Trinity College Dublin

[Attachments] See images for this press release:
Nature of solids and liquids explored through new pitch drop experiment Nature of solids and liquids explored through new pitch drop experiment 2 Nature of solids and liquids explored through new pitch drop experiment 3

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

New study involving CU-Boulder tells the tale of a kangaroo's tail

New study involving CU-Boulder tells the tale of a kangaroos tail
2014-07-02
VIDEO: This video is an analysis of video of kangaroos walking has helped scientists discover how important their tails are during locomotion. Click here for more information. Kangaroos may be nature's best hoppers. But when they are grazing on all fours, which is most of the time, their tail becomes a powerful fifth leg, says a new study. Involving researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder, Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, Canada, and the University of New ...

The Lancet: Nearly 80 percent of US deaths in the first three decades of life are due to unintentional injury or violence

2014-07-02
A new report on unintentional injury and violence in the United States, published in The Lancet as part of a new Series, The health of Americans [1], has found that prevention strategies across society show a great deal of promise in preventing unintended deaths and injuries. According to the report, by CDC researchers from Atlanta, USA, more Americans between the ages of one and 30 die from injury than from any other cause. Every year, nearly 180 000 people in the USA die from preventable causes such as automobile crashes, drowning, firearm-related injuries, falls, ...

The Lancet: Infectious diseases cause significant burden in the USA

2014-07-02
Infectious diseases remain major public health challenges in the United States, according to a new report published in The Lancet as part of a new Series, The health of Americans [1]. Endemic conditions such as chronic viral hepatitis, human immunodeficiency virus, and other sexually transmitted infections continue to affect millions of individuals, with racial and ethnic minorities disproportionately affected. Emerging and re-emerging vector borne and zoonotic disease infections are threatening new areas and populations, as most recently observed with Chikungunya. Despite ...

The Lancet: Chronic disease prevention one of 21st century's key challenges

2014-07-02
According to a report on chronic diseases by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention researchers, published in The Lancet as part of a new Series, The health of Americans [1], half of all adults in the USA suffer from at least one chronic condition, such as diabetes, heart disease, or obesity, and over a quarter of adults have two or more. The majority of these chronic conditions stem from a small number of risk factors that are largely preventable, including tobacco use, poor diet, and physical inactivity (both strongly associated with obesity), alcohol consumption, ...

Predicting the outcome of hepatitis C virus treatment

2014-07-02
Millions of people throughout the world are infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV), which can lead to cirrhosis of the liver and cancer. Directly acting antiviral agents inhibit viral proteins and have been used to successfully treat HCV. Unfortunately, antiviral therapy fails in some patients, resulting in a relapse of HCV. A study published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation identifies a marker that can identify patients likely to have an HCV relapse after antiviral therapy. Shyamasundaran Kottilil and colleagues at the NIH evaluated the immune response of HCV-infected ...

Bone marrow transplantation shows potential for treating adults with sickle cell disease

2014-07-01
Use of a lower intensity bone marrow transplantation method showed promising results among 30 patients (16-65 years of age) with severe sickle cell disease, according to a study in the July 2 issue of JAMA. Myeloablative (use of high-dose chemotherapy or radiation) allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT; receipt of hematopoietic stem cells "bone marrow" from another individual) is curative for children with severe sickle cell disease, but associated toxicity has made the procedure prohibitive for adults. The development of nonmyeloablative conditioning ...

Drug everolimus does not improve overall survival in patients with advanced liver cancer

2014-07-01
Despite strong preclinical data, the drug everolimus failed to improve overall survival in patients with advanced liver cancer, compared to placebo, according to a study in the July 2 issue of JAMA. Patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC; a type of liver cancer) have a median overall survival of less than l year, largely because of the absence of effective therapies. The drug sorafenib is the only systemic therapy shown to significantly improve overall survival in advanced HCC; however its benefits are mostly transient and modest, and disease eventually ...

Study examines neurological outcomes for TBI treatments

2014-07-01
In patients with a traumatic brain injury (TBI), neither the administration of the hormone erythropoietin (EPO) or maintaining a higher hemoglobin concentration through blood transfusion resulted in improved neurological outcome at 6 months, according to a study in the July 2 issue of JAMA. Transfusing at higher hemoglobin concentrations was associated with a higher risk of adverse events. Patients with severe traumatic brain injury commonly develop anemia. For patients with neurological injury, anemia is a potential cause of secondary injury, which may worsen neurological ...

Whole-exome sequencing helpful to id gene mutations linked to nervous system diseases

2014-07-01
Use of exome sequencing improved the ability to identify the underlying gene mutations in patients with biochemically defined defects affecting multiple mitochondrial respiratory chain complexes (enzymes that are involved in basic energy production), according to a study in the July 2 issue of JAMA. Defects of the mitochondrial respiratory chain have emerged as the most common cause of childhood and adult neurometabolic disease, with an estimated prevalence of l in 5,000 live births. Clinically these disorders can present at any time of life, are often seen in association ...

Medicare-backed breast cancer screenings skyrocket, but do patients benefit?

2014-07-01
Breast cancer screening costs for Medicare patients skyrocketed between 2001 and 2009, but the increase did not lead to earlier detection of new breast cancer cases, according to a study published by Yale School of Medicine researchers in the July 1 Journal of the National Cancer Institute. While the number of screening mammograms performed among Medicare patients remained stable during the same time period, the study focused on the adoption of newer imaging technologies in the Medicare population, such as digital mammography. Brigid Killelea, M.D., assistant professor ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Mammals were adapting from life in the trees to living on the ground before dinosaur-killing asteroid

Low LDL cholesterol levels linked to reduced risk of dementia

Thickening of the eye’s retina associated with greater risk and severity of postoperative delirium in older patients

Almost one in ten people surveyed report having been harmed by the NHS in the last three years

Enhancing light control with complex frequency excitations

New research finds novel drug target for acute myeloid leukemia, bringing hope for cancer patients

New insight into factors associated with a common disease among dogs and humans

Illuminating single atoms for sustainable propylene production

New study finds Rocky Mountain snow contamination

Study examines lactation in critically ill patients

UVA Engineering Dean Jennifer West earns AIMBE’s 2025 Pierre Galletti Award

Doubling down on metasurfaces

New Cedars-Sinai study shows how specialized diet can improve gut disorders

Making moves and hitting the breaks: Owl journeys surprise researchers in western Montana

PKU Scientists simulate the origin and evolution of the North Atlantic Oscillation

ICRAFT breakthrough: Unlocking A20’s dual role in cancer immunotherapy

How VR technology is changing the game for Alzheimer’s disease

A borrowed bacterial gene allowed some marine diatoms to live on a seaweed diet

Balance between two competing nerve proteins deters symptoms of autism in mice

Use of antifungals in agriculture may increase resistance in an infectious yeast

Awareness grows of cancer risk from alcohol consumption, survey finds

The experts that can outsmart optical illusions

Pregnancy may reduce long COVID risk

Scientists uncover novel immune mechanism in wheat tandem kinase

Three University of Virginia Engineering faculty elected as AAAS Fellows

Unintentional drug overdoses take a toll across the U.S. unequally, study finds

A step toward plant-based gelatin

ECMWF unveils groundbreaking ML tool for enhanced fire prediction

The food and fuel that farms itself

Patient- and Community-Level Characteristics Associated With RSV Vaccination

[Press-News.org] Nature of solids and liquids explored through new pitch drop experiment