Electron Astonishing feats Bonds Commentary

Joseph John Thomson physics

Electron

• The unit of electrical charge
• is carried by particles accelerating around atoms
• bound or flying quickly from their orbits.
• J. J. Thomson realized that cathode rays
• were streams of these corpuscles, he called them,
• with the same electric charge
• and the same mass
• no matter what they were flying from.
• Thomson thought that atoms were bundles
• of thousands of these corpuscles
• bound together like plums
• in a positively charged pudding.

Astonishing feats

• Sir Electron captures a photon
• to free the world of stupidity and fear—well,
• he does not successfully conquer stupidity or fear.
• Sir Electron binds hydrogens to oxygens
• to make a bucket of water,
• which he drinks and uses to wash his hands.
• Sir Electron powers lights and motors
• to keep our factories and offices running.
• They keep us running, too.
• Sir Electron experiments with molecules
• to make chemicals that affect our basic physiology.
• Drug companies make millions.
• Sir Electron gives us productivity devices,
• but these don’t make us more productive.
• We eagerly await version 11, the next sequel.

Bonds

• Body chemistry
• binds us together.
• Binary units—
• male and female.
• Young romance
• at our age.