In recognition of poetry month:
Equilibrium
by Jeff Atkinson, Joe Donley and Eric Frey
Wrath!
Equilibrium, the finale of reactions
Dynamic
Ever bouncing the reaction continues
But quantities stay the same
Like two great beasts locking horns
Neither refusing to give way, preferring death to dishonor
Reversibility
Not unlike a fall windbreaker
Double sided, indestructible
Reactions work both ways
Products to reactants
And reactants to products
Ever battling with the merciless bond formations and fragmentations
Who will win this war of wills?
Constant
The Keq, immortal
Products over reactants
Pure solids and water,
Like Green party candidates
Forgotten, not considered
Q, the reaction quotient
Instantaneous
When less than Keq, products formed
When equal, equilibrium is reached
When greater, reactants formed
Ever adjusting toward equilibrium
Much like the clownfish changes sex
To produce an equilibrium between males and females
Le Châtelier
A Frenchman with a love of chemistry
His principle, the law of his land
When a change is imposed
On a system at equilibrium
The system will react in a direction
Reducing the amount of change
Just as a swing, pushed in one direction
Will swing back in the opposite direction
Concentration
The big “M” stands for moles/liter
The answer to the age old question, “How much stuff?”
Adding more reactants drives equilibrium toward products
Adding products has the opposite effect
Water, from quiet sunny stream
To babbling brook
To raging river
All has a concentration of 56 moles/liter
Temperature
Bane of man’s existence
From frozen mountain snows
To burning desert sands
One is never comfortable
It alone has the power to affect Keq
It alone has the splendor
Adding heat will drive endothermic reactions toward the products
While exothermic reactions will be driven toward the reactants
Equilibrium
Quietly controlling
Calming disruption
Governing our lives
(Thanks to Twitter's @Whiteley for the find.)
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