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 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.