---
title: "Nine drops in a century: how Australian scientists prove that solid can be liquid"
description: "In Australia, the longest experiment in the history of science has been running for almost 100 years: scientists are observing the fall of drops of super-viscous resin. Only 9 drops have fallen in total, while the tenth is forming right now — and you can watch it online. 🕰️🔬"
date: 2026-06-15T05:16:00.000Z
lang: en
url: https://xab.info/en/posts/nine-drops-in-a-century-how-australian-scientists-prove-that-solid-can-be-liquid
tags: []
publisher: "XAB.info"
---

# Nine drops in a century: how Australian scientists prove that solid can be liquid

![Scientists observe a bitumen experiment under a glass dome — demonstrating how solid matter flows like liquid at a rate of nine drops per century](https://xab.info/media/2026/06/15/devyat-kapel-za-vek-kak-avstralijskie-uchenyie-dokazyivayut-chto-tverdoe-mozhet-byt-zhidkim/devyat-kapel-za-vek-kak-avstralijskie-uchenyie-dokazyivayut-chto-tverdoe-mozhet-byt-zhidkim-1.webp)

At the University of Queensland in Australia, the longest laboratory experiment in the history of science has been running for nearly a century. Its goal is to visually demonstrate that what appears to be a solid resin is actually an extremely viscous liquid. Over the entire period of observation, only nine drops of the substance have fallen from the funnel.

### The experiment that began in 1927

The initiator of the study was Australian physicist Thomas Parnell. In 1927, he set himself the task of demonstrating to students the exceptional property of certain materials. A substance that looks and feels absolutely solid can, from a physics standpoint, be a liquid.

The object of the study was pitch — a black, tar-like substance that was previously widely used for waterproofing boats. At room temperature, this material behaves like a solid: if you hit it with a hammer, the pitch will simply shatter into splinters. However, in reality, it is an extremely viscous liquid.

### How the experiment is set up

To prove his theory, Parnell heated the resin, poured it into a sealed glass funnel, and let the substance settle for three years. In 1930, the bottom of the funnel was cut off, allowing the pitch to begin its ultra-slow descent.

The main reason for such a prolonged process lies in the phenomenon of viscosity — the ability of a liquid to resist flow. If water has low viscosity and flows instantly, and honey moves more slowly, then pitch is on a completely different level. Scientists' calculations showed that this resin is approximately 100 billion times more viscous than water.

### Drops that wait for decades

That is why the fall of each individual drop becomes an event of decades. Since the beginning of the experiment, only 9 drops have detached. For many decades, no scientist has been able to witness the moment of falling with their own eyes. The drops fell either at night or during holidays, and in 2000, when the eighth drop was falling, the video camera in the laboratory happened to break down.

The ninth drop detached in April 2014 during a technical operation to replace the glass beaker under the funnel. Now, the tenth drop is slowly forming in the laboratory. Today, this process can be observed online via a 24/7 broadcast.