#30DaysOfScikuChallenge

Element Scikus

A couple of elemental science-inspired haikus.

Elementary

Proton, electron
Probabilistic dancers
Define elements

Atomic orbitals of the electron in a hydrogen atom at different energy levels. The probability of finding the electron is given by the color, as shown in the key at upper right. (Image and text by PoorLeno, Wikimedia Commons)

We think of protons and electrons arranged like miniature solar systems of wire and Styrofoam balls, circling endlessly in our childhood science projects. But at the atomic scale, it is probability, not graceful arcs and loops, which define how electrons move about their suns made of protons and neutrons. More like how a moth would appear flitting about a flickering light, a stroboscopic existence with no path through space between each flashing appearance. Protons, neutrons, and electrons behave as both particles and waves, bending our minds and collectively giving us the illusion of a solid and deterministic world. That probabilistic dance between these sub-atomic partners is the basis for all the elements that build our universe.

Hydrogen

One and one make one
Condensing from the Big Bang
Our World’s pioneer