Limericks - About others

Steve Barnett

A physics professor, Strathclyde

whose joy ran ahead of his pride

having lost his phase

in a ceilidh craze

wished he could retrodictively hide.

Michael Hall

A physicist from ANU

was like Einstein from this point of view:

he had joint occupations

patents, and then equations

but was biased towards number two.

Mark Hillery

A professor at Hunter College

much enjoyed his quantum knowledge.

But when he realized that

he couldn’t clone his cat

it was something he wouldn’t acknowledge.

A fellow from New York

exerted too much torque

on the bow of his cello.

It went mellow as Jello.

Now he plays his tuning fork.

Jim Cresser

A wave-chasing surfer, Macquarie

thought, but not without being sorry

at one of life’s junctions

that chasing wave functions

perhaps was just as hunky-dory.

Tony Sudbery

A lively professor from York

said “To show the effects of torque

I much prefer to do

some jive with Suzie-Q.

It is better than blackboard and chalk.”

Anton Zeilinger

Anton Zeilnger, as I will tell

was entangled with Alice so well

that when Bob came in sight

there was almost a fight.

But our Anton was saved by the Bell.

About Erika

If Erika were born further north

She'd be a neighbor of Santa, of courth

In the snow they'd have tango'd

As Santa ho ho ho'd

While the scorn of the reindeers poured forth.

by Jim Cresser

A young Finnish lass from Strathclyde

said ‘If locality’s bona fide

then I can “Bell” push

to beat round the “Bush”

But three spins is much harder, she sighed.’

by Michael Hall

There was a pianist named Erika

Who decided to play the harmonica.

But when she hit an E flat

Out flew a gnat

So she switched to collecting exotica.

There was a pianist from Finland

who wanted to play in a jazz band.

She blew her first gig

by dancing a jig

When she should have been riffing on Holland.

The tango is great for a Finn

Said Erika with a wide grin

It is good for the feet

If you keep to the beat,

and can be accompanied by gin.

all three by Mark Hillery

A theorist from Heriot-Watt

Dances jive, and salsa, the lot.

She goes Lindy Hopping

All night without stopping

And gets only a little bit hot.

by Tony Sudbery

Both Sides Now - Light Version (apologies to Joni Mitchell)

Rays and rainbows in the air

Diffraction patterns everywhere

Two slits will make it interfere

I've looked at light as a wave

But then the light is acting strange

It seems it's quantized, that's a change!

Some photons lost, some photons gained

in Einstein's B and A

I've looked at light from both sides now

as wave and photon, still somehow

it's light's illusions I recall

I really don't know light at all.