Sili gets the last laugh
Monday, January 31, 2011 at 10:38PM 
Okay, I know I said the chemistry poetry book was done. But now that we've gotten the proofs and realize that some little things will need to be changed, I am considering replacing one of the illustrations. This is just a rough sketch I did today to get some ideas down. The poem, written of course by Mala Radhakrishnan, is about an atom of Silicon named Sili, who is teased relentlessly in school because, being neither metal nor non-metal, he was having trouble fitting in.
"
Though like a metal (it was quite shiny),
Its conductivity was tiny.
Its band gap was too far from little,
And unlike metals, ’twas rather brittle.
It clutched electrons way too tightly,
So metals would tease it daily and nightly.
Yet nons would also jeer and nettle,
“You dress and look just like a metal!”
What pain ’cause it did not conform,
No box for it to check on forms.
Few others could know the lonely void
That it lived as a “metalloid.”
"
Of course, he eventually proves to be very useful indeed, and everyone loves him...
"
And nowadays, sili’s still lionized.
Its band gap equals a perfect size
To dope with nearby brothers and sisters
And make computers from transistors.
As if its utility has not yet impressed us,
It’s also in quartz and in glass and asbestos.
And silicon’s used in chemical plants
For lubricants and breast implants.
Sili, its fourteen electrons so strong,
Proved all of its skeptical peers to be wrong
When it managed to move all the way out to Cali
And founded its very own aptly-named valley.
"
With this illustration I tried to incorporate as many silicon-containing materials as I could, including a computer, a quartz watch, solar panels, a car, glass, bluetooth device, and some, shall we say, augmentation. (Obviously I'm talking about Sili's calves.)
Reader Comments (2)
Oh, Mary. You're so sili. Where can I get my calves done like that?
Will this book be sold on Amazon? I will definitely buy a copy.
Definitely, Kevin. It will be on Amazon soon hopefully. Even sooner than that you'll be able to buy it from Lulu.com at a discounted price. As for your calves, I think you should start by looking in LA. You may find one or two cosmetic surgeons there.