Tag: John Hawkhead

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A super position by John Hawkhead

quantum superpositioning myself in her g-B-o-A-o-D-d books

by John Hawkhead

Quantum superposition is the principle that a quantum system can exist in many states simultaneously until it is measured or observed directly. Measurement forces the system to ‘collapse’ to a single, definite state. The concept is demonstrated by the ‘double’-slit experiment which shows that light and matter can act as waves and particles at the same time.

Perhaps the most famous thought experiment associated with this phenomenon is Schrödinger’s Cat which illustrates superposition. In quantum superposition theory a cat, locked in a box with poison in a flask and a radioactive source that may or may not release the poison, is both alive and dead at the same time until the box is opened and reveals the definite state of the cat. The poem is a light hearted response to the theory.

Further reading:

‘Quantum superposition’, Wikipedia article, available: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_superposition

Author bio:

John Hawkhead (@haikuhawk.bsky.social) is a writer and artist from the south-west of England. His work has been published globally over the last 25 years, including three books of haiku / senryu: ‘Small Shadows’ and ‘Bone Moon’ (available from Alba Publishing. http://www.albapublishing.com/) and ‘Four Horse Parable’ (available from Nun Prophet Press).

Read more of John’s sciku here!

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Many endings by John Hawkhead

quantum worlds
every possibility
has an ending

by John Hawkhead

The Quantum World Theory (or Many Worlds Interpretation) of quantum mechanics posits that every quantum event with multiple possible outcomes causes reality to branch into separate, parallel universes, where each distinct outcome occurs. The theory suggests that all possible outcomes are physically real but exist in distinct, non-interacting, worlds. The single uniting expectation is that all parallel universes and worlds will have an ending. This parallels all human existences coming to an end no matter how long science can extend a lifetime.

Further reading:

‘Many-worlds interpretation’, Wikipedia article, available: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Many-worlds_interpretation

‘The Many-Worlds Theory, Explained’, 2020, Gribbin, J., The MIT Press Reader, available: https://thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/the-many-worlds-theory/

Author bio:

John Hawkhead (@haikuhawk.bsky.social) is a writer and artist from the south-west of England. His work has been published globally over the last 25 years, including three books of haiku / senryu: ‘Small Shadows’ and ‘Bone Moon’ (available from Alba Publishing. http://www.albapublishing.com/) and ‘Four Horse Parable’ (available from Nun Prophet Press).

Read more of John’s sciku here!

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Eternally grateful by John Hawkhead

möbius strip
sending a thank-you card
for a thank-you card

by John Hawkhead

A möbius strip is a surface with only one side and one edge. It is created by folding a strip of paper by one half-twist and then joining the two ends. This seems counterintuitive but a line drawn on paper will eventually meet itself if continued along the entire length of the joined strip – thus demonstrating it only has one side and one edge.

The möbius strip symbolises infinity and so this sciku uses a never-ending exchange of ‘thank-you’ cards between overly polite persons to link with the concept.

Further reading:

‘Möbius strip’, Wikipedia article, available: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%B6bius_strip

Author bio:

John Hawkhead (@haikuhawk.bsky.social) is a writer and artist from the south-west of England. His work has been published globally over the last 25 years, including three books of haiku / senryu: ‘Small Shadows’ and ‘Bone Moon’ (available from Alba Publishing. http://www.albapublishing.com/) and ‘Four Horse Parable’ (available from Nun Prophet Press).

Read more of John’s sciku here!

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Freckles by John Hawkhead

black hole horizon
the galaxy of freckles
mum used to own

by John Hawkhead

A black hole horizon, or event horizon, is a boundary around a black hole beyond which neither matter nor light can escape the black hole’s gravitational force. Any object that crosses the horizon is pulled irrevocably into the black hole and cannot return. It is currently thought that each of the estimated 200 billion large galaxies in the observable universe have a black hole at their centre – although some smaller galaxies do not. Black Holes grow by accreting stars, dust and gas that come too close to the horizon.

Although some human cultures believe in the concept of reincarnation, death is mostly considered to be a ‘point of no return’ regardless of any belief in an afterlife. This poem remembers the death of the poet’s mother and the freckles she had as a child.

Further reading:

‘Event horizon’, Wikipedia article, available: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Event_horizon

Author bio:

John Hawkhead (@haikuhawk.bsky.social) is a writer and artist from the south-west of England. His work has been published globally over the last 25 years, including three books of haiku / senryu: ‘Small Shadows’ and ‘Bone Moon’ (available from Alba Publishing. http://www.albapublishing.com/) and ‘Four Horse Parable’ (available from Nun Prophet Press).

Read more of John’s sciku here!

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Uncertainty by John Hawkhead

switching off life support
we cannot know where
an electron is

by John Hawkhead

Due to Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle, we cannot know the exact location of an electron at any given time. The principle states that it is impossible to precisely measure the position and momentum of a particle like an electron simultaneously. We can only describe the orbitals or energy levels where an electron is most likely to be found in an atom.

Switching off life support is a difficult decision that allows a patient to die peacefully when curative treatments are no longer effective. It’s a key part of end-of-life care.

Many people believe in an afterlife or a continuation of existence for the mind or soul. There is no proof for such beliefs, but if it were true, we cannot know where or how that continuation might occur.

Sciku previously published in cattails journal April 2022. Editor’s comment from the journal: John Hawkhead takes us on an extraordinary journey. It’s starting point is a bleak one. There is no guidance to the reader about the circumstances of the patient, but we understand there is nothing more that can be done. Following this information comes a phrase which fully captured my imagination. It appears to reference the uncertainty principle, which is fascinating in itself. However, the juxtaposition of this ‘phrase’ with the initial ‘fragment’ set up multiple chains of thought in my mind. There is the ‘death’ of the machine as it is switched off and there is the death of the patient. The cessation of electrical activity within their brain, which we believe is responsible for consciousness. These ideas lead me back to the wording within the ‘phrase’. I picture an adult explaining ideas of death to a child, and the child trying to navigate its way through unfamiliar terrain, perhaps even touching on the nature of a soul and its continuation after death.

Further reading:

‘Where are electrons located within an atom?’, CK-12 Foundation, available: https://www.ck12.org/flexi/physical-science/atomic-nucleus/where-are-electrons-located-within-an-atom/

‘The uncertain location of electrons’, 2013, Zaidan, G. & Morton, C., TED-Ed, YouTube, available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ROHpZ0A70I

Author bio:

John Hawkhead (@haikuhawk.bsky.social) is a writer and artist from the south-west of England. His work has been published globally over the last 25 years, including three books of haiku / senryu: ‘Small Shadows’ and ‘Bone Moon’ (available from Alba Publishing. http://www.albapublishing.com/) and ‘Four Horse Parable’ (available from Nun Prophet Press).

Read more of John’s sciku here!

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Particles/Waves by John Hawkhead

particles or waves?
moving from a dream state
to awakening…

by John Hawkhead

Fundamental particles such as photons and electrons display the characteristics of particles AND waves depending on the experiments we use to measure them. Particles have momentum and position so we can identify the effect when they interact with other particles. On the other hand, a wave can pass over, around or through physical objects. They are oscillations that transfer energy from one location to another.

So matter can be considered to be waves and particles depending on the method of measurement (see The Copenhagen Interpretation of Bohr and Heisenberg). Other theories have competed for our understanding of how subatomic matter behaves, such as the Many Worlds interpretation, but the duality of the Copenhagen Interpretation is still a strong contender for explaining how the subatomic world works.

Dreams can seem very real, sometimes involving all of our senses. They often involve people we know, sometimes in bizarre events that nevertheless can leave us strongly impacted upon awakening from sleep. Some dreams can be very closely related to current events in one’s life and so seem to take on a significance that we may try to rationalise in relation to our waking lives.

Two great thinkers on this subject, Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung, both considered dreams as important in understanding the human psyche, whether as repressed desires or as messages from the unconscious that inform our waking lives. So are dreams real? Are they as much a part of our existence as the waking world? Is there a duality of existence in waking and dreaming? Perhaps we go somewhere else when we dream that is just as real as in the conscious world.

Further reading:

‘Elementary particle’, Wikipedia article, available: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elementary_particle

‘Copenhagen interpretation’, Wikipedia article, available: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copenhagen_interpretation

‘Many-worlds interpretation’, Wikipedia article, available: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Many-worlds_interpretation

‘Sigmund Freud’, Wikipedia article, available: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigmund_Freud

‘Carl Jung’, Wikipedia article, available: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Jung

Author bio:

John Hawkhead (@haikuhawk.bsky.social) has been writing haiku and illustrating for over 25 years. His work has been published all over the world and he has won a number of haiku competitions. John’s books of haiku and senryu, ‘Small Shadows’ and ‘Bone Moon’, are now available from Alba Publishing (http://www.albapublishing.com/).

Read more of John’s sciku here!

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Trigonometry by John Hawkhead

trigonometry
measuring a new distance
between our stars

by John Hawkhead

Trigonometry is a branch of mathematics concerned with the functions of angles and their application to calculations. Trigonometric functions are used to find unknown angles and distances from known or measured angles in geometric figures.

For example, astronomers apply trigonometry to calculate how far stars and planets are from Earth. Similarly, astronauts calculate the speed they are moving in a spacecraft by using the distance from a known location to calculate an unknown distance to another location.

Humans also use the stars to reference predestined future events such as in Shakespeare’s ‘star-crossed lovers’ (where Romeo and Juliet’s romantic relationship is doomed).  Potential lovers may look to the stars to predict how distances between one person and another can be bridged, or how to predict who one is fated to be with.

Further reading:

‘Trigonometry’, Wikipedia article, available: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trigonometry

Author bio:

John Hawkhead (@haikuhawk.bsky.social) has been writing haiku and illustrating for over 25 years. His work has been published all over the world and he has won a number of haiku competitions. John’s books of haiku and senryu, ‘Small Shadows’ and ‘Bone Moon’, are now available from Alba Publishing (http://www.albapublishing.com/).

Read more of John’s sciku here!

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Space time by John Hawkhead

space-time it appears we both needed it

by John Hawkhead

Under the rules of special relativity, time is not separated from the three dimensions of space. This is because the observed rate at which time passes for an object depends on the object’s velocity relative to its observer. Gravitational fields can slow the passage of time for an object as seen by observers outside the field.

In space, the position of an object is specified by three co-ordinates called x, y and z. A point in spacetime is called an event, which is a three-dimensional location in space plus the position in time (the fourth dimension). Therefore, an event in space-time has four coordinates x, y, z and t.

Partners in life may sometimes need space and time apart to consider where they are or where they are going in a relationship. Hopefully, the sciku gives a double insight into these thoughts and a juxtaposition between them.

Further reading:

‘Spacetime’, Wikipedia article, available: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spacetime

Author bio:

John Hawkhead (@haikuhawk.bsky.social) has been writing haiku and illustrating for over 25 years. His work has been published all over the world and he has won a number of haiku competitions. John’s books of haiku and senryu, ‘Small Shadows’ and ‘Bone Moon’, are now available from Alba Publishing (http://www.albapublishing.com/).

Read more of John’s sciku here!

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Neutrinos by John Hawkhead

neutrino mass for the fleetingly here

by John Hawkhead

Neutrinos are fundamental particles and are members of the same group as the electron (leptons). Neutrinos have very little mass, no charge, and travel through the Earth in milliseconds.

Some Christian religions hold a ‘mass’ for the deceased to celebrate a life. So, this monoku poem links the short time on Earth for neutrinos with our fleeting time on Earth.

Further reading:

‘Neutrino’, Wikipedia article, available: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutrino

Author bio:

John Hawkhead (@haikuhawk.bsky.social) has been writing haiku and illustrating for over 25 years. His work has been published all over the world and he has won a number of haiku competitions. John’s books of haiku and senryu, ‘Small Shadows’ and ‘Bone Moon’, are now available from Alba Publishing (http://www.albapublishing.com/).

Read more of John’s sciku here!

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Sequences by John Hawkhead

dependent event
a Fibonacci sequence
that ends in zero

by John Hawkhead

This is a 5-7-5 sciku using mathematical sequencing terms to reference a life leading to death (‘zero’). The terms are:

  • Dependent Event: In probability, the outcome of an event often depends on the outcome of another event.
  • Fibonacci Sequence: Any sequence of numbers where the next number is obtained by adding together the two previous numbers e.g. 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13…
  •  Zero: another name for nothing or not existing.

Further reading:

‘The Oxford Dictionary of Mathematics (6 ed.)’, 2009, Earl, R. & Nicholson, J., Oxford University Press. Available: https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/acref/9780198845355.001.0001/acref-9780198845355

Author bio:

John Hawkhead (@HawkheadJohn) has been writing haiku and illustrating for over 25 years. His work has been published all over the world and he has won a number of haiku competitions. John’s books of haiku and senryu, ‘Small Shadows’ and ‘Bone Moon’, are now available from Alba Publishing (http://www.albapublishing.com/).

Read more of John’s sciku here!

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Flickerings by John Hawkhead

migraine flickerings
sighting an electron stream
leave free radicals

by John Hawkhead

A free radical is an atom, ion or molecule with at least one unpaired valence electron and which are usually highly chemically reactive with short lifetimes.

They are formed either from other radicals or by breaking a covalent bond in a spin-paired molecule, leaving each of the fragments with one of the electrons in the original bond.

The author of this haiku suffers from migraines where vision is impaired in such a way that there appears to be a stream of electrical waves and particles across the eye.

Further reading:

‘Radical (Chemistry)’, Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radical_(chemistry)

‘Migraine’, Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Migraine

Author bio:

John Hawkhead (@HawkheadJohn) has been writing haiku and illustrating for over 25 years. His work has been published all over the world and he has won a number of haiku competitions. John’s books of haiku and senryu, ‘Small Shadows’ and ‘Bone Moon’, are now available from Alba Publishing (http://www.albapublishing.com/). Read more of John’s sciku here!

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Gene Editing by John Hawkhead

a cure for cancer…
cutting the gordian knot
in a gene sequence

by John Hawkhead

Gene editing provides us with the ability to make highly specific changes in the DNA of a living organism. It has the potential to revolutionize cancer treatment via manipulation of the genome to target specific genetic mutations that drive the growth and spread of tumours.

The cutting of the Gordian knot is a legend associated with Alexander the Great about a complex knot that tied an oxcart. It was claimed that whoever was able to untie it would be destined to rule all of Asia. When Alexander was challenged to untie the knot he cut through it with his sword rather than attempt to untie it. This is now used as a metaphor for solving a seemingly intractable problem through bold means or thinking differently.

Further reading:

‘What is genome editing?’, 2019, National Human Genome Research Institute, available: https://www.genome.gov/about-genomics/policy-issues/what-is-Genome-Editing

‘How CRISPR Is Changing Cancer Research and Treatment’, 2020, National Cancer Institute, available: https://www.cancer.gov/news-events/cancer-currents-blog/2020/crispr-cancer-research-treatment

‘The Potential Revolution of Cancer Treatment with CRISPR Technology’, 2023, Stefanoudakis, D., et al., Cancers (Basel), https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers15061813

Author bio:

John Hawkhead (@HawkheadJohn) has been writing haiku and illustrating for over 25 years. His work has been published all over the world and he has won a number of haiku competitions. John’s books of haiku and senryu, ‘Small Shadows’ and ‘Bone Moon’, are now available from Alba Publishing (http://www.albapublishing.com/). Read more of John’s sciku here!

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Quantum Worlds by John Hawkhead

quantum worlds
my shadow as real
as I am

by John Hawkhead

One of the experimental tests used to determine the nature of fundamental quanta such as photons is the ‘double-slit aperture test’.

A stream of photons is projected towards a barrier with two slits. The result is an interference pattern on a screen beyond the slits that demonstrates the wave-particle duality of the photon.

One explanation for this duality applies the multiverse concept and theorises that particles from parallel universes interact with the photons being projected towards the slits. In this multiverse concept, the shadow areas in the aperture pattern ‘hide’ alternative universes. The theory is that ‘shadow photons’ are affecting the the photons in the double-slit experiment.

Similarly, the terms shadows and shades are often used to describe the dead when seen crossing back into this world from the ‘other side’ as ghosts or spirits. Is it possible that our shadows are experienced in alternative universes..?

Further reading:

‘Double-slit experiment’, Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double-slit_experiment

‘Many worlds interpretation’, Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Many-worlds_interpretation

Author bio:

John Hawkhead (@HawkheadJohn) has been writing haiku and illustrating for over 25 years. His work has been published all over the world and he has won a number of haiku competitions. John’s books of haiku and senryu, ‘Small Shadows’ and ‘Bone Moon’, are now available from Alba Publishing (http://www.albapublishing.com/).

Enjoyed John’s sciku? Check out more of his sciku here: ‘Dark matter’, ‘Chirality’, ‘Spooky Interaction’, ‘Dancing’, ‘Planetarium’, ‘Empty Space’, ‘Averages’, ‘New Beginning’, ‘Interactions’, ‘Surface Tension’ and ‘Shell Game‘.

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Shell Game by John Hawkhead

waterfall rainbows
gnats scribble probabilities
in atomic shells

by John Hawkhead

In atomic physics and chemistry, electron shells (and subshells) are thought of as a series of ascending orbits that electrons occupy around an atom’s nucleus. Shells correspond to principal quantum numbers or are labelled alphabetically with the letters used in X-ray notation. Each row on the periodic table of elements represents an electron shell.

Each shell can contain only a fixed number of electrons. The numbers of electrons that can occupy each shell and subshell arise from equations in quantum mechanics, which state that no two electrons in the same atom can have the same values of the four quantum numbers that describe an electron in an atom completely:

  • Principal quantum number (n)
  • Azimuthal quantum number (ℓ)
  • Magnetic quantum number (mℓ)
  • Spin Quantum number (ms)

Further reading:

‘Electron shells’, Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_shell

‘Quantum number’, Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_number

Author bio:

John Hawkhead (@HawkheadJohn) has been writing haiku and illustrating for over 25 years. His work has been published all over the world and he has won a number of haiku competitions. John’s books of haiku and senryu, ‘Small Shadows’ and ‘Bone Moon’, are now available from Alba Publishing (http://www.albapublishing.com/). Read more of John’s sciku here!

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Surface Tension by John Hawkhead

surface tension
she dips a toe
into my silence

by John Hawkhead

Surface tension is the tendency of at-rest liquid surfaces to shrink into the minimum surface area possible. This allows objects with higher density than water to float on its surface without becoming submerged.

Surface tension results from the greater attraction of liquid molecules to each other (cohesion) than to air molecules (adhesion).

Further reading:

‘Surface tension’, Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surface_tension

Author bio:

John Hawkhead (@HawkheadJohn) has been writing haiku and illustrating for over 25 years. His work has been published all over the world and he has won a number of haiku competitions. John’s books of haiku and senryu, ‘Small Shadows’ and ‘Bone Moon’, are now available from Alba Publishing (http://www.albapublishing.com/). Read more of John’s sciku here!

This sciku was previous published in Human/Kind: A Journal of Topical and Contemporary Japanese Short-forms and Art, issue 1:1, p14.

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Interactions by John Hawkhead

bosons and mesons
all the stuff we talk about
just interactions

by John Hawkhead

In particle physics, bosons are subatomic particles whose spin quantum number has an integer value and which obey Bose-Einstein statistics. Examples of bosons include the Higgs boson particle and photons (light).

Mesons are a form of boson: they’re hadronic subatomic particles composed of an equal number of quarks and antiquarks bound together by a strong interaction. Mesons are the interaction agents between protons and electrons, but are unstable outside of the nucleus, decaying to particles such as electrons, neutrinos and photons. Despite their small size (0.6 times the size of a proton or neutron) and instability, they’re observable by particle detectors and have been used to study the properties and interactions of quarks.

Further reading:

‘Boson’, Wikipedia article – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boson

‘Bosons and Fermions’, Office of Science, US Department of Energy – https://www.energy.gov/science/doe-explainsbosons-and-fermions

‘Meson’, Vedantu article – https://www.vedantu.com/physics/meson

‘Meson’, Wikipedia article – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meson

‘Meson’, Encyclopaedia Britannica article – https://www.britannica.com/science/meson

Author bio:

John Hawkhead (@HawkheadJohn) has been writing haiku and illustrating for over 25 years. His work has been published all over the world and he has won a number of haiku competitions. John’s books of haiku and senryu, ‘Small Shadows’ and ‘Bone Moon’, are now available from Alba Publishing (http://www.albapublishing.com/). Read more of John’s sciku here!

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New Beginning by John Hawkhead

protostar flare
a new beginning
in the sonogram

by John Hawkhead

A protostar is a young star still gathering mass from its parent molecular cloud. The protostellar phase is the earliest the process of stellar evolution.

A sonogram is a picture made by ultrasound waves to show the inside of the human body, including in pregnancy assessment.

Further reading:

‘Protostar’, Wikipedia article – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protostar

‘Ultrasound’, Wikipedia article – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultrasound

Author bio:

John Hawkhead (@HawkheadJohn) has been writing haiku and illustrating for over 25 years. His work has been published all over the world and he has won a number of haiku competitions. John’s books of haiku and senryu, ‘Small Shadows’ and ‘Bone Moon’, are now available from Alba Publishing (http://www.albapublishing.com/). Read more of John’s sciku here!

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Averages by John Hawkhead

mean median mode
learning my average
did not measure up

By John Hawkhead

In mathematics mean, mode and medium are different types of averages from a data set:

  • Mean is the average of a data set, calculated by adding all the data set numbers and then dividing the result by the total of values in the set.
  • Median is the middle value of a data set ordered from least to greatest.
  • Mode is the value that appears the most times in a set of data.

Further reading:

‘Central tendency’, Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_tendency

Author bio:

John Hawkhead (@HawkheadJohn) has been writing haiku and illustrating for over 25 years. His work has been published all over the world and he has won a number of haiku competitions. John’s books of haiku and senryu, ‘Small Shadows’ and ‘Bone Moon’, are now available from Alba Publishing (http://www.albapublishing.com/). Read more of John’s sciku here!

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Empty Space by John Hawkhead

bar talk
his atoms and mine
mostly empty space

by John Hawkhead

Atoms are 99% empty space, comprised of electrons in orbits around a nucleus made up of protons and neutrons. It follows then that approximately 99% of the human body is empty space with the remaining 1% (the electrons, neutrons and protons) being particles that have existed for billions of years.

At least this is the common mental image of an atom – the planetary model, originally proposed by Ernest Rutherford in 1911 and further refined by Niels Bohr in 1913. And yet…

Researchers increasingly understand that whilst electrons occupy discrete energy levels, they don’t always behave like discrete particles. Electrons are quantum objects – an electron is partly a wave and partly a particle. Under normal conditions an individual electron isn’t traveling in an orbital path through nothingness around its nuclei, but is instead spread out in an electron cloud.

As astrophysicist Dr Ethan Siegel says, “Inside your body, you aren’t mostly empty space. You’re mostly a series of electron clouds, all bound together by the quantum rules that govern the entire Universe.”

Further reading:

‘Due to the Space inside Atoms, You Are Mostly Made up of Empty Space’, Trevor English, Interesting Engineering: https://interestingengineering.com/science/due-to-the-space-inside-atoms-you-are-mostly-made-up-of-empty-space

‘Rutherford model’, Encyclopedia Britannica: https://www.britannica.com/science/Rutherford-model

‘You Are Not Mostly Empty Space’, Ethan Siegel, Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/startswithabang/2020/04/16/you-are-not-mostly-empty-space/

Author bio:

John Hawkhead (@HawkheadJohn) has been writing haiku and illustrating for over 25 years. His work has been published all over the world and he has won a number of haiku competitions. John’s books of haiku and senryu, ‘Small Shadows’ and ‘Bone Moon’, are now available from Alba Publishing (http://www.albapublishing.com/). Read more of John’s sciku here!

This sciku was previously published in MahMight haiku journal 2021.

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Dancing by John Hawkhead

photons
E=mc2
dancing

By John Hawkhead

Photons are some of the most fascinating particles in the physical sciences; fundamental particles of light that are the smallest possible packets of electromagnetic energy.

Albert Einstein’s mass–energy equivalence (represented by the formula E = mc2) gives the basic relation between mass and energy, stating that under appropriate situations mass and energy are interchangeable and the same. Yet photons have a rest mass of zero – they are massless particles – therefore should they even have any energy at all? And if they have neither mass nor energy then would they even physically exist?

E = mc2 is actually a special case of the more general equation E2 = p2c2 + m2c4, where E is energy, p is momentum, c is the speed of light and m is mass at rest. Since photons have no mass, this equation becomes E = pc.  Effectively, photons get their energy from their momentum and can never be at rest, constantly moving.

How they move has been the subject of study for decades, with recent research suggesting that photons can behave as both particles and waves (to find out more, check out the sciku ‘Spooky Interaction’, also by John Hawkhead).

This sciku plays around with the concepts of photons, square dancing and the randomness of measuring the path of photons.

Further reading:

‘Light has no mass so it also has no energy according to Einstein, but how can sunlight warm the earth without energy?’, Science Questions with Surprising Answers: https://www.wtamu.edu/~cbaird/sq/2014/04/01/light-has-no-mass-so-it-also-has-no-energy-according-to-einstein-but-how-can-sunlight-warm-the-earth-without-energy/

‘Mass–energy equivalence’, Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass%E2%80%93energy_equivalence

‘Does light have mass?’, Physics FAQ: https://www.desy.de/user/projects/Physics/Relativity/SR/light_mass.html

Author bio:

John Hawkhead (@HawkheadJohn) has been writing haiku and illustrating for over 25 years. His work has been published all over the world and he has won a number of haiku competitions. John’s books of haiku and senryu, ‘Small Shadows’ and ‘Bone Moon’, are now available from Alba Publishing (http://www.albapublishing.com/). Read more of John’s sciku here!

‘Dancing’ was previously published in Failed Haiku 74 (1 Feb 2022).

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Planetarium by John Hawkhead

planetarium
she reaches across space
to find my hand

by John Hawkhead

In the 2008 USA presidential election, Senator John McCain criticised the value (and cost) of planetariums, as being little more than “overhead projectors”.

Yet planetariums, as well as being a unique form of entertainment, are valuable science communication tools: interactive and immersive pedagogic instruments for astronomical education.

For example, research by Plummer (2008) suggests that attending a planetarium program increased understanding of celestial motion in students aged 6 to 8 years old. Planetariums are also especially valuable for those living in large towns and cities, where light-pollution prevents most stars from being visible.

To celebrate the value and power of planetariums, the second Sunday of every March is International Day of Planetariums.

Further reading:

‘The Value of Education in the Planetarium’, The International Planetarium Society: https://www.ips-planetarium.org/page/planetariumeducationvalue

‘International Day of Planetariums’, AnydayGuide: https://anydayguide.com/calendar/3858

‘Early elementary students’ development of astronomy concepts in the planetarium’, Journal of Research in Science Teaching: https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.20280

Author bio:

John Hawkhead (@HawkheadJohn) has been writing haiku and illustrating for over 25 years. His work has been published all over the world and he has won a number of haiku competitions. John’s books of haiku and senryu, ‘Small Shadows’ and ‘Bone Moon’, are now available from Alba Publishing (http://www.albapublishing.com/). Read more of John’s sciku here!

‘Planetarium’ was previously published in Poetry Pea – podcast (June 2022); Journal 2:22 (Sept 2022).

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Spooky Interaction by John Hawkhead

explaining photons
my side of the argument
neither here nor there

By John Hawkhead

Scientists argued for years about whether photons were particles or waves, but it seems that photons can behave as both. They are now known as ‘gauge bosons’ of force-carrying particles that enable interactions between matter particles and fundamental forces, and exhibit a third property known in quantum physics as ‘excitation’.

Dark matter theory suggests the possible existence of ‘dark photons’ as mediators of interaction between dark matter particles. Some experiments have indicated that interacting photons remain connected even as they move away from each other at the speed of light; therefore, appearing to interact faster than the speed of light. Einstein’s term for this was “spooky interaction at a distance”. As with other fundamental particles, it is not possible to know the location and velocity of a photon.

Further reading:

‘The wave-particle duality of photons’, Photon Terrace article, https://photonterrace.net/en/photon/duality/

‘Wave-particle duality and uncertainty principles’, section on Wikipedia entry for Photon, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photon#Wave%E2%80%93particle_duality_and_uncertainty_principles

Author bio:

John Hawkhead (@HawkheadJohn) has been writing haiku and illustrating for over 25 years. His work has been published all over the world and he has won a number of haiku competitions. John’s books of haiku and senryu, ‘Small Shadows’ and ‘Bone Moon’, are now available from Alba Publishing (http://www.albapublishing.com/). Read more of John’s sciku here!

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Dark Matter by John Hawkhead

dark matter theory
how strange particles appear
as they disappear

By John Hawkhead

Dark matter is a term used to describe the effect on the movement of stars by what scientists hypothesise to be matter. However, dark matter does not emit light or energy, and so is ‘invisible’. To hold the elements of the universe together, dark matter must make up approximately 80-85% percent of the universe.

Many scientists think dark matter is made up of particles known as weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPS) or another type of particle the neutrino. The quantum world allows for the existence of virtual particles that can appear and disappear in zero point energy conditions.

Further reading: An Introduction to Dark Matter

John Hawkhead (@HawkheadJohn) has been writing haiku and illustrating for over 25 years. His work has been published all over the world and he has won a number of haiku competitions. John’s books of haiku and senryu, ‘Small Shadows’ and ‘Bone Moon’, are now available from Alba Publishing (http://www.albapublishing.com/).

Read more of John’s sciku here!

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Chirality by John Hawkhead

chiral molecules
we cannot superimpose
cis/trans isomers

By John Hawkhead

In chemistry, a molecule or ion is called chiral if it cannot be superposed on its mirror image by any combination of rotations and translations. This geometric property is called chirality.  In Latin, “cis” means “on this side,” while “trans” means “on the other side.

In gender terms ‘cis’ means the gender you identify with matches the sex assigned to you at birth. Trans (gender) is when your gender identity differs from the sex on your birth certificate.

Further reading: Organic Chemistry: Chirality

John Hawkhead (@HawkheadJohn) has been writing haiku and illustrating for over 25 years. His work has been published all over the world and he has won a number of haiku competitions. John’s books of haiku and senryu, ‘Small Shadows’ and ‘Bone Moon’, are now available from Alba Publishing (http://www.albapublishing.com/). Read more of John’s sciku here!