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Pitch (resin)

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Uses:
– Pitch used for caulking wooden sailing vessels
– Coating earthenware vessels for wine preservation
– Waterproofing wooden containers
– Making torches
– Polishing optical lenses and mirrors

Viscoelastic properties:
– Pitch in University of Queensland experiment has extreme viscosity
– Naturally occurring asphalt/bitumen is a viscoelastic polymer
– Pitch drop experiment demonstrates slow flow of pitch
– Trinity College experiment captured pitch dripping on camera
– Winchester College pitch glacier demo since 1906

Production:
– Heating wood produces tar and pitch
– Birchbark used for birch-tar
– Traditional pitch drawn from pine for waterproofing
– Ancient method of applying pitch to ceramic wine casks
– Pitch used for Cutlers resin

Literary references:
– Dogberry in Much Ado About Nothing mentions pitch contamination
– Falstaff in Henry IV, Part 1 refers to pitch’s contaminating nature
– Book of Sirach states touching pitch makes one dirty

See also:
– Asphaltene
Creosote
Pine tar
– Tar

Notes:
– Pitch extracted from lentisk and pine for wood resin
– Ancient method of applying pitch to ceramic wine casks
– Details on Greek weights and measures in pitch production
– Use of pitch in Italy for various applications

Pitch (resin) (Wikipedia)

Pitch is a viscoelastic polymer which can be natural or manufactured, derived from petroleum, coal tar, or plants. Pitch produced from petroleum may be called bitumen or asphalt, while plant-derived pitch, a resin, is known as rosin in its solid form. Tar is sometimes used interchangeably with pitch, but generally refers to a more liquid substance derived from coal production, including coal tar, or from plants, as in pine tar.

Natural bitumen pitch, from the tar pit above the McKittrick Oil Field, Kern County, California
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