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Chemphasis @chemphasis.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

A global theme, noted in metric! Cyanotype prints, most eclectic... The process, inspirin’ Through ions of iron And shine of the sun: blue aesthetic. #WorldCyanotypeDay #Cyanotypes #JohnHerschel #Limericks

These are a few of the many cyanotype prints that my lab classes and I have generated over the years, in honor of World Cyanotype Day, celebrated on the last Saturday of September! Some are simple prints formed via stencils of natural images, while some depict additional efforts through symmetric effects or the use of photographic negatives. The pertinent chemical process here occurs when iron-containing compounds on photosensitized paper react in the presence of ultraviolet light (such as that in sunshine). The technique was developed in the 1840s by Sir John Herschel.

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Chemphasis @chemphasis.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

Belated mid-summer abstractions From Fourth of July night’s distractions, With fireworks’ immersing Through colors' dispersing: Reflecting on sky-set diffractions. chemphasis.com/2026/07/15/b...

$A photo of fireworks from this year's Fourth of July celebration. This photo was taken with a diffraction grating in front of the lens, leading to the rainbow effect seen in the bottom of the image.$

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Chemphasis @chemphasis.bsky.social · 16/06/2026

Two squirrels alike in dignity Are scaling yonder walnut tree! Concurrent path is rarely seen; Symmetric-ish in summer green. A scamper-clamber’s quick ascent; Sequential pacing, circumvent.

Two gray squirrels are climbing the same walnut tree with similar postures, almost exactly opposite from one another; there’s an effect of a near-reflected image if one imagines a slightly slanted mirror plane. I used Shakespeare’s famous household descriptor given the squirrels’ identical appearances and the phrase’s fit with the meter of the rest of the rhyme.

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Chemphasis @chemphasis.bsky.social · 20/05/2026

The common meter, standardized, We celebrate/display To center world’s metrology On most auspicious day. One-fifty-one: the years have passed Since first convention’s scene; Now, seven SI units stem From nature's constancy. #MetreConvention #WorldMetrologyDay #InternationalSystemOfUnits

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Chemphasis @chemphasis.bsky.social · 13/05/2026

A moment of sunrise-brainstorming Shifts view from the vision conforming; Intention-selective In choice of perspective: A musical staff in the morning. #Limericks

Sunrise, turning the clouds suddenly golden against a pale blue sky; a building, a tree, and a set of power lines are also visible. This was a moment from a morning walk last week. The power lines had seemed at first to obscure the surprisingly vivid view a bit; however, with five of them in sequence, they ultimately suggested a musical staff.

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Chemphasis @chemphasis.bsky.social · 04/05/2026

Do or do not; no “try”: Force-insistent. Citing rebels and allies resistant, Sagas epic ensue From distinct points of view, Long ago, in a galaxy distant. #Limericks #StarWars #Yoda #MayTheFourthBeWithYou

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Chemphasis @chemphasis.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

Eighth attempt: full octet, now achieving! (The pace of time, still disbelieving.) April’s theme: web-immerse Welcome break of light verse With chemistry’s words, interweaving. #NaPoWriMo #SciencePoetry #Limericks

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Chemphasis @chemphasis.bsky.social · 29/04/2026

A near-automatic reliance On matters of instinct and guidance With nuance observed And key efforts conserved, Once routine gets down to a science. #NaPoWriMo #SciencePoetry #Limericks

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Chemphasis @chemphasis.bsky.social · 28/04/2026

A phrase known, first, as metaphoric, Revealed as a test of things auric! Gold’s non-reactivity; Nitric acid’s vicinity; Their context in settings historic. #NaPoWriMo #SciencePoetry #Limericks #AcidTest

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Chemphasis @chemphasis.bsky.social · 27/04/2026

Measured-endeavor-ly, Thomson, Lord Kelvin, Will study STEM concepts And insights behold; Temp’rature scale used in Thermodynamics Cites absolute zero As ultimate cold. #NaPoWriMo #SciencePoetry #WilliamThomson #AbsoluteZero #ZeroKelvin

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Chemphasis @chemphasis.bsky.social · 26/04/2026

When famous non-mixtures will roil, Note layered molecular toil; A point here admissible: Some compounds, immiscible! The well-known case: water and oil. #NaPoWriMo #SciencePoetry #Limericks #LikeOilAndWater

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Chemphasis @chemphasis.bsky.social · 25/04/2026

Reviewing STEM-centric verbosity, Find catalyst-themed etymology. From Greek, the term’s pieced: “En-zyme,” from “in yeast,” Yields biochem-parsing cartography. #NaPoWriMo #Limericks #DNADay #Biochem #EnzymeEtymology

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Chemphasis @chemphasis.bsky.social · 24/04/2026

I think that I shall always find, For Arbor Day, this verse-form kind. Iambic feet of Kilmer’s ode: Botanic celebration code. #NaPoWriMo #SciencePoetry #JoyceKilmer #ArborDay

Sunshine streaming through the green leaves of a tree in April, in honor of Arbor Day. The poem’s meter parallels that of Joyce Kilmer’s famous 1913 verse (“I think that I shall never see / A poem lovely as a tree…”).

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Chemphasis @chemphasis.bsky.social · 23/04/2026

What is the question? Search what’s past as prologue; Find method (less madness) With rhyme and with reason; Be-all and end-all: NON-foregone conclusions; Thereby hangs a tale. Soon, the glorious season! #NaPoWriMo #Shakespeare #WritingLabReports #EndingSpringSemester

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Chemphasis @chemphasis.bsky.social · 22/04/2026

A cardinal, a pebble, the thunder… Phenomena countless in number. Each morning’s observing; Perspectives, unswerving: We walk in the middle of wonders. #NaPoWriMo #SciencePoetry #Limericks #EarthDay #JohnHerschel #MaryOliver

A small red cardinal in a tree. The photos in this post celebrate signs of spring including birds, deer, and flowers, in honor of Earth Day. The poem itself is inspired by quotes from natural philosopher John Herschel and poet Mary Oliver. In "Preliminary Discourse on the Study of Natural Philosophy," written in 1851, Herschel states: "To the natural philosopher there is no natural object unimportant or trifling,” citing “the fall of an apple” or “the situation of a pebble” as two examples. He ultimately notes that one “walks in the midst of wonders.” In Oliver’s 2012 poem “A Thousand Mornings,” she celebrates, in part, “...morning, the light deepening, the wind easing and just waiting, as I too wait (and when have I ever been disappointed?) for redbird to sing.”

Two deer looking out from the midst of the woods. The photos in this post celebrate signs of spring including birds, deer, and flowers, in honor of Earth Day. The poem itself is inspired by quotes from natural philosopher John Herschel and poet Mary Oliver. In "Preliminary Discourse on the Study of Natural Philosophy," written in 1851, Herschel states: "To the natural philosopher there is no natural object unimportant or trifling,” citing “the fall of an apple” or “the situation of a pebble” as two examples. He ultimately notes that one “walks in the midst of wonders.” In Oliver’s 2012 poem “A Thousand Mornings,” she celebrates, in part, “...morning, the light deepening, the wind easing and just waiting, as I too wait (and when have I ever been disappointed?) for redbird to sing.”

A bird silhouetted against the early-morning sky. The photos in this post celebrate signs of spring including birds, deer, and flowers, in honor of Earth Day. The poem itself is inspired by quotes from natural philosopher John Herschel and poet Mary Oliver. In "Preliminary Discourse on the Study of Natural Philosophy," written in 1851, Herschel states: "To the natural philosopher there is no natural object unimportant or trifling,” citing “the fall of an apple” or “the situation of a pebble” as two examples. He ultimately notes that one “walks in the midst of wonders.” In Oliver’s 2012 poem “A Thousand Mornings,” she celebrates, in part, “...morning, the light deepening, the wind easing and just waiting, as I too wait (and when have I ever been disappointed?) for redbird to sing.”

Spring blossoms on a flowering tree. The photos in this post celebrate signs of spring including birds, deer, and flowers, in honor of Earth Day. The poem itself is inspired by quotes from natural philosopher John Herschel and poet Mary Oliver. In "Preliminary Discourse on the Study of Natural Philosophy," written in 1851, Herschel states: "To the natural philosopher there is no natural object unimportant or trifling,” citing “the fall of an apple” or “the situation of a pebble” as two examples. He ultimately notes that one “walks in the midst of wonders.” In Oliver’s 2012 poem “A Thousand Mornings,” she celebrates, in part, “...morning, the light deepening, the wind easing and just waiting, as I too wait (and when have I ever been disappointed?) for redbird to sing.”

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Chemphasis @chemphasis.bsky.social · 21/04/2026

After your lab, When the data you wield, Consider your calcs And evaluate…

Yield! This photo shows the familiar red and white triangle of a yield sign, in the context of driving/traffic. In a lab context, the actual yield is the amount of a given chemical product you’ve obtained; the theoretical yield is what you could have obtained if the experiment went perfectly; the percent yield gives you a comparison of the two (by taking actual yield divided by theoretical yield and converting to a percentage). Evaluating all three types of yield would be common when completing a lab procedure.

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Chemphasis @chemphasis.bsky.social · 20/04/2026

The structural formula: lending A newfound depiction, augmenting Compound’s connectivity Through visual proclivity; First step t’ward 3-D orienting. #NaPoWriMo #SciencePoetry #Limericks #ChemicalFormulas #StructuralFormula

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Chemphasis @chemphasis.bsky.social · 19/04/2026

Molecular formula’s mission For compound: precise definition Of the atoms involved. (Sans, though, structure resolved!) Exact chemical composition. #NaPoWriMo #SciencePoetry #Limericks #ChemicalFormulas #MolecularFormula

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Chemphasis @chemphasis.bsky.social · 18/04/2026

Denote compound’s key data, clerical, In ratio set whole-numerical: Relationship simple For chemical symbols, The formula known as empirical. #NaPoWriMo #SciencePoetry #Limericks #ChemicalFormulas #EmpiricalFormula

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Chemphasis @chemphasis.bsky.social · 17/04/2026

Two-weeks-plus of new attempts drafted, With chem into poems adapted: The rhyming routine Takes its shape on the screen, As April marks halfway point “passèd.” #NaPoWriMo #SciencePoetry #Limericks

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Chemphasis @chemphasis.bsky.social · 16/04/2026

Approaching the term’s affirmation Of seniors’ accomplished elation… Lab cylinder’s code Is a useful spring mode: Through measured steps, reach graduation! #NaPoWriMo #Limericks #SciencePoetry #GraduatedCylinder

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Chemphasis @chemphasis.bsky.social · 15/04/2026

The metals denoted transition Will occupy bridging position Betwixt the groups main That the Table contains In elements’ chart-recognition. #NaPoWriMo #SciencePoetry #Limericks #TransitionMetals #PeriodicTableOfTheElements

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Chemphasis @chemphasis.bsky.social · 14/04/2026

Draft-revision forms, eclectic: Underdrawings deemed authentic; Pentimenti palimpsestic; Process stories, most aesthetic. #NaPoWriMo #ChemistryInArt #PaintingLayers

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Chemphasis @chemphasis.bsky.social · 13/04/2026

Cyanotype-themed in its topic, Lab notes photochemical logic With stencils and sun. Once process is done, Find prints themed in blue, most rhapsodic! #NaPoWriMo #Limericks #ChemistryInArt #Cyanotypes #Gershwin

This photo shows an array of simple cyanotype prints, with their characteristic deep blue contrasting with lighter images of flowers and ferns, created via stencil. It is impossible not to think of George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” when my classes complete these lab activities, and so it was nice to find inspiration for a limerick to highlight that link.

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Chemphasis @chemphasis.bsky.social · 12/04/2026

Note light’s seeming-tangible scattering; A sunset, ostensibly “matter-ing”; Crepuscular rays In these long-evening days, With twilight depictions most flattering. #NaPoWriMo #LimerickSunday

I learned the vocab term “crepuscular rays” relatively recently for the specific scattering effect seen when sunbeams pass through clouds; such rays are more subtle in this photo than others I’ve taken, but some can be seen at the top. “Crepuscular” comes from the Latin for “twilight” (crepusculum)… and it is a descriptor that fits well into a limerick’s rhythm!

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Chemphasis @chemphasis.bsky.social · 11/04/2026

Post week-and-a-half trip’s duration Of lunar and space exploration… To Artemis 2: Welcome back, valiant crew, With over-the-moon exultation! #NaPoWriMo #SciencePoetry #Limericks #Artemis

A small bird sits in a tree, silhouetted against the sky of the early dawn. The moon is still visible in the sky.

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Chemphasis @chemphasis.bsky.social · 10/04/2026

Two roles, both chem-crucial, aligned here, In artistic combo’s reminder; Blend a bright-vivid tint With an adhesive’s stint: A paint is a pigment plus binder. #NaPoWriMo #SciencePoetry #Limericks #ChemistryInArt #PaintComposition

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Chemphasis @chemphasis.bsky.social · 09/04/2026

In blue’s lapis-lazuli fashion, A natural pigment’s duration; Now ultramarine As synthetic, too, seen— From beyond-the-sea inspiration. #NaPoWriMo #SciencePoetry #Limericks #ChemistryInArt #UltramarineBlue #Pigments

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Chemphasis @chemphasis.bsky.social · 08/04/2026

A most helpful late-spring-term idiom, With chalk-on-the-sidewalk as medium. New resolve, activate; Peace of mind, cultivate, As we aim to regain….

Equilibrium! This photo shows what looks like a set of half-headed arrows written on chalk on the sidewalk: one pointing backward and the other forward, one on top of the other. In Intro Chemistry terms, this is typically read as an indication of chemical equilibrium: the forward and backward directions of the reaction are balancing one another. At the end of a busy spring semester, it can be a reasonable goal to achieve metaphorical equilibrium, as well!

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Chemphasis @chemphasis.bsky.social · 07/04/2026

A chem-in-art term: hue-degrading; Intent of the artist, evading. The “fugitive pigment” As putative figment, With color scheme, speedily fading. #NaPoWriMo #SciencePoetry #Limericks #ChemistryInArt #FugitivePigment

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Chemphasis @chemphasis.bsky.social · 06/04/2026

Today’s early-April notation: A moment of chem-contemplation. Past efforts, perennial, Reach sesquicentennial, In STEM-centered spring celebration! #NaPoWriMo #SciencePoetry #Limericks #AmericanChemicalSociety #ACS150

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Chemphasis @chemphasis.bsky.social · 05/04/2026

Beneath the term’s frantic veneering, Find spring: fundamental, endearing. New-long daylight hours; Return of the flowers: The wonders routine, reappearing. #NaPoWriMo

Some flowers in sharp focus against a blurry background of tree branches and spring blossoms.

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Chemphasis @chemphasis.bsky.social · 04/04/2026

“A first step t’ward Molecular depictions,” Chem profs say. “Electron regions Will repel!” This is the…

This photo shows a sign for a road named “VESPER WAY.” This is both the name for the road and the punchline of the poem. VSEPR (valence-shell electron-pair repulsion) theory, typically pronounced "vesper theory," is a first step toward more complex depictions of three-dimensional molecular geometries in Introductory Chemistry courses. One key idea underlying VSEPR theory is that “electron regions will repel.” (Obviously, this poem takes many shortcuts to achieve a reasonable rhyme scheme!)

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Chemphasis @chemphasis.bsky.social · 03/04/2026

The Table for chem settings formative (With info, analyses normative), Routine here oft frequents In early-spring sequence: Its hist’ry and themes tend exhortative! #NaPoWriMo #Limericks #SciencePoetry #PeriodicTableOfTheElements

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Chemphasis @chemphasis.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

This poetic form ever-thrifty, With rhyme scheme predictable-nifty, Here yields jubilant frame Via element’s name: Tin-tinnabulation! Post fifty! #FiftiethPost #Tin #AtomicNumber50 #NaPoWriMo #Limericks #SciencePoetry

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Chemphasis @chemphasis.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

An April routine starts anew, here; Five lines and their rhyme scheme will do, here. Eighth time at routine Of the verse-science mien: Thus, chem-themed “octet” to ensue, here. #NaPoWriMo #EighthAttempt #Limericks #SciencePoetry

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Chemphasis @chemphasis.bsky.social · 15/01/2026

Whose tree this is I think I know. He hides past yonder branches though. #StoppingByWoods #Frost

A red cardinal is barely visible behind several tree branches on a winter afternoon.

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Chemphasis @chemphasis.bsky.social · 15/12/2025

Paper, paper, everywhere, And all the desk space shrinks; Paper, paper, everywhere, Awaiting pen and ink. #EndOfAutumnSemester #RimeOfTheGradingProfessor

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Chemphasis @chemphasis.bsky.social · 23/10/2025

A Chem Week verse, from Scarborough four-- Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme-- Theme varies slightly given the score, For Mole Day mention, via quick rhyme. #NationalChemistryWeek #MoleDay #ACS_NCW #TheHiddenLifeOfSpices #AndHerbs

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Chemphasis @chemphasis.bsky.social · 09/10/2025

A science-art phrase diagnostic Will center a compound base-caustic; Attention un-wavers On limelight’s behavior, As trips the light koniaphostic. chemphasis.com/2025/10/08/l... #Limelight #SciArt #Limericks #SciencePoetry

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Chemphasis @chemphasis.bsky.social · 25/05/2025

Observed in a day’s late through-farin’; Impressive, a bird’s state (due sharin’): With water-rush weathered In stature quite feathered, A sudden surprise… great blue heron! #LimerickSunday

A great blue heron stands in a nearby creek.

A great blue heron spreads its wings while standing in rushing waters.

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Chemphasis @chemphasis.bsky.social · 21/05/2025

A cardinal’s hue, vivid-winging As rainstorm sets branches to swinging; Soon, blue skies aplenty On day one-and-twenty In back-and-forth-steps of May’s springing. #SpringConstants #Limericks

A small red cardinal is visible in the center of trees in the midst of a rainstorm. (This limerick takes poetic license in alluding to Hooke’s Law, used in physical science to define the movement of a spring via a “spring constant,” to reference the reliably back-and-forth nature of the changes in May’s spring weather.)

Blue skies are already visible on the opposite horizon, reinforcing the theme of dramatic weather changes as a constant aspect of this season. (This limerick takes poetic license in alluding to Hooke’s Law, used in physical science to define the movement of a spring via a “spring constant,” to reference the reliably back-and-forth nature of the changes in May’s spring weather.)

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Chemphasis @chemphasis.bsky.social · 20/05/2025

To celebrate day metrologic With global theme, STEM-philosophic, This May marks attention To Metre Convention As sesquicentennial topic! #WorldMetrologyDay #Limericks

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Chemphasis @chemphasis.bsky.social · 04/05/2025

Merits May Fourth an ode systematic To far galaxy’s guide enigmatic, Whose shifts anastrophic With themes philosophic Will invert lines to fame cinematic. #LimerickSunday #Yoda #MayThe4thBeWithYou

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Chemphasis @chemphasis.bsky.social · 30/04/2025

The month’s new-complete contribution Re: concepts, reactions, allusions; A break from spring’s stressing: Chem-terms, verse-addressing, In welcome routine’s resolution. #NaPoWriMo #Limericks #NaPoWriMo2025

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Chemphasis @chemphasis.bsky.social · 29/04/2025

Acidic-environment feature: Oft-stable reactant’s chem-cleaver. The process provides Alcohol and halide: Two products formed out of the ether. #NaPoWriMo #Limericks #OrganicChem #Mechanisms

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Chemphasis @chemphasis.bsky.social · 28/04/2025

A radical initiation Begins with bond-breaking notation. Ensuing, next steps Allow varied prospects. (Some cases, polymerizations.) #NaPoWriMo #Limericks #OrganicChem #Mechanisms #RadicalChemistry

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Chemphasis @chemphasis.bsky.social · 27/04/2025

Tomorrow’s view: Finals Week, finding Last emails, announcements, remindings. Spring weather enlivens; Exams on horizon: The path towards term’s end now is winding. #NaPoWriMo #LimerickSunday #FinalsWeek

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Chemphasis @chemphasis.bsky.social · 26/04/2025

The route deemed saponification, Historical soap generation: Now, path hydrolyzing Is ester-incising Through basic-solution causation. #NaPoWriMo #Limericks #OrganicChem #Mechanisms

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Chemphasis @chemphasis.bsky.social · 25/04/2025

Brilliantly, diligently, Rosalind Franklin: Her crystallographic skills, Insights display; Her expertise, honed In X-ray diffraction: Unwinds major mystery, Reveals DNA. #NaPoWriMo #DNADay #RosalindFranklin chemphasis.com/2021/03/30/s...

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