by Hadi M. Nor
Pix Credit: http://historeo.com/ Too much facts! |
I’ve tried writing a poem before but I did not
succeed. Whenever I try to construct and arrange words to form a beautiful
metaphor, my subconscious self would remind me of why these metaphors could
never work.
It is because of scientific facts. I know that the metaphor in a poem should not
be taken literally but I can’t help it. When I try to write, these scientific
facts breathe down my neck like a stern, nerdy parent.
Here, let me explain:
“Someday we’ll know, why the sky’s blue.” – New Radicals
To answer this question, according to Science Made
Simple, “we must learn about the light, and Earth’s atmosphere.” Yes, this
snippet of this song’s lyrics is an icebreaker to the most boring conversation
ever.
To explain this phenomenon, it would take us a very
long time and it will confuse most of you like how it did to us. We’ll try our
best to summarize it.
Basically an English physicist named Lord John
Rayleigh decided to study the absorption of light by gas molecules. When
atmospheric molecules absorb lights, it will generate the same colour. This
process is called the Rayleigh scattering.
Gas molecules absorb the colour with the most
frequency, which is blue. This colour is
then scattered in different directions and all over the sky. That is why the
sky looks blue.
Pix Credit: adg.lnll.gov "I’m Lord John Rayleigh. That’s right, ‘Lord’.Because I have a cool beard. That’s why.” |
All visible light is the part of our electromagnetic
spectrum that our eyes can see. Blue has a high frequency, which is why this
colour reaches us first. This is also why when you look at a horizon of
mountains you will see more that their colour is bluer.
Science just ruined your imagination.
“Ku PetikBintangUntukKauSimpan.” (I’ll
Gather The Stars For You to Keep) – Sheila On 7
This is a romantic song from the Indonesian band
Sheila On 7. It’s a good song to woo someone unless that person has a vast
knowledge in science. He/she will think that you want to kill her.
According to National Geographic, “stars are cosmic
energy engines that produce heat, light, ultraviolet rays, x-rays, and other
forms of radiation. They are composed largely of gas and plasma, a superheated
state of matter composed of subatomic particles.”
Also, the luminosity of stars depends on the energy
they generate and their distance from Earth.
Did you know that the sun is also a star? If you
don’t, shame on you. So before you go to pick the stars of the night sky, why
don’t you start with the sun and we’ll see how that turns out.
Pix Credit: en.wikipedia.org Pluck it out like a fruit |
“Dancing in the moonlight.”
For ages, human beings have been struck with a sense
of awe every time they gaze up in the sky and see the moon. The moon
illuminates the world when night comes. It shines down its light upon us and we
would gaze upon its majestic beauty.
Except, of course, that’s not its light.
The moon does not shine any light. It reflects the sunlight to Earth. Imagine
lending your friend your favourite shirt and people start complimenting him/her
instead of you.
“Hey, you look great in that shirt!”
“Thanks!”
The moon is a bad friend.
The surface of the moon is composed of rocks. There
are no plants or living things on the moon’s surface, which is why it can
reflect the sunlight so efficiently.
Pix Credit: thedailypipe.blogspot.com The surface of the moon is composed of rocks |
So, as
you can see, all these metaphors suck, really, if you go by science. And that’s
why I’m not a good poet.
Look! Here’s a collectible sticker (Right click to save). Collect them all! |
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