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!