Chapter VIII: Solubility and Equalibrium

Excerpt from "Undissolved Mysteries" by Mala Radhakrishnan

...

I’ve been such an angry old ion of barium
Since two little fluorines asked me to marry ’em.
Each asked for an electron from my “6s,”
And as we could all have octets, I said, “Yes.”

So now in a crystal of BaF2,
I’m ionically bonded—there’s nothing to do!
So bored in this grid, I want to be free.
I regret this decision’s effects upon me.

...

But wait—do my senses deceive me? A beaker!
I knew luck would help out the needy who seek her.
A liter of water—it’s filled to the brim;
I might be able, again, to swim!

To be sure of my prospects for happy solvation,
I’ve managed a chemical calculation:
Two grams of crystal—that’s 0.01 moles,
Less BaF2 than this water can hold.

...