Building blocks
by cricketjeff on May 17, 2009. © Jeff Green, All rights reserved
An atom is a fuzzy ball
Electrons in a spin
The whole of it is very small
A nucleus within
The nucleus is smaller still
Though all the weight is there
Electrons make the sparsest fill
Much emptier than air
Protons and neutrons, made of quarks
Tied in with gluon string
The nuclei are Noah’s arks
With threes of everything
Electrons are all negative
Attracted by a force
The Protons are the positive
That holds them tight of course
Two forces bind the nuclei
(we call them weak and strong)
You won’t confuse them if you try
So please don’t get them wrong
And everything that you can hold
Is made of piles of these
Some rusty iron, or shiny gold
And even stinky cheese
Now atoms come in many kinds
(There’s ninety two or more)
And men with rather clever minds
Have made another score
But atoms aren’t the end you see
There like to join in bands
And when they do it’s chemistry
That no-one understands!
Author notes
So now you know!
English