Sciencepoeming, Or, Poetry Saturday
Cause Thoreau seemed to like last week’s okay, the following, title poem of my unsold collection from the 1990s:
Against Simplicity
Water filled the shallow, bulky basin
in physics lab. Our teacher, Mr. Burch,
centered over it a wire rack,
from which a shaft extending downward broke
the surface tension. When he flipped a switch
a motor set the rod to pistoning
and the water flowered with concentric ripples.
That was lesson one. But even better
was when he lowered a second shaft beside it
and flipped a second switch. Both rods vibrated.
Later, he would teach us the equations
and later yet I would forget them, but
the vision of that tub remains with me–
two wave fronts, simple in themselves, created
out of their interference with each other
a stable pattern of stationary peaks
and valleys, something you could see or swim through
but energized into geography.
To this day, I am happiest when I have
two things at once to set by one another–
a weight in each hand, a hobby and a job,
a metaphor, one sweetheart and one crush.
© 1998 Jim Henley
Comment by wiseguy —
February 23, 2008 @ 10:45 am
Great thoughtful essay. Where’s the poem?
Comment by Thoreau —
February 23, 2008 @ 12:18 pm
I like water waves. The fact that interference effects still happen in something that seems like it really ought to be more complicated is just plain cool to me.
Comment by Jon Campbell —
February 24, 2008 @ 9:53 pm
That was an interesting poem, you explained yourself really well almost in a journal type response. Peace
Comment by Mr. Obscura —
February 25, 2008 @ 6:46 pm
In the mid-1970s, my high school physics teacher (aside, his name meant “Mr. Hat” in a different language), ran an annual Physics Phield Phollies in which we competed in events like making small bridges, matchstick rockets, tiny steam-powered jet boats (a metal film canister as a boiler and a candle as a heat source), egg drops, and kite making. My kite (a parafoil) flew very poorly, but he gave me an award for original design.
He also used a classroom laser to show us the carrying of voice in a laser, interference, and total internal reflection.
And I never thanked him properly.