History of Science in Rhymes
From Ancient to Modern Times
https://www.amazon.com/History-Science-Rhymes-ancient-modern/dp/1517298571
Genesis according to science
Stars are Born
Hydrogen, helium, interstellar dust,
Rarefied matter was what came first.
They all were of the Big Bang born,
Or from supernovae rudely shorn.
Particles, charges, atoms, ions,
Drawn closer and closer during eons,
Were brought within huge confinements
By gravitational enticements
Celestial globules, large and small,
Drops and droplets of the Cosmic Ball:
Massive ones grew hot and more,
Caused nuclear fusion at their core.
So it was that stars were made,
To shine for long, and then to fade.
Of these billions there was one
That slowly became our shining sun.
Planets Formed
In its realm and under its sway
Lesser bodies came to play:
Planets, satellites near and far,
Moving for ever around their star.
Sun’s family is itself bound
To the spiral galaxy it whirls around.
Here a speck we call the Earth
Is where we all have had our birth.
LIFE
In this our home in the cosmos vast
All life we know has had its past.
Life evolved on the temporal span
From molecules to the mind of Man.
Lands were barren, arid, waste,
Landscape not quite to our taste.
Volcanic fumes spread far and near,
While ocean waters were pure and clear.
Ammonia, methane, hydrogen there
In what was then the planet’s air.
Gigantic clouds rose and fell,
Abundant rains caused rivers to swell.
Flowing waters brought salts to sea,
Affecting the oceans’ purity.
Elements from every chemical group
Made the sea a primordial soup.
Kindled by light, heat, and lightning,
And by factors that could be frightening,
Turbulent chemistry did eons take
The first organic units to make.
From inert matter in simpler states
Came amino acids, and carbohydrates.
Further reactions now gave rise
To complex systems of greater size.
Self-replicating systems came
To launch life on its random game.
Once the spark of life was lit,
Its range and kind had no limit.
Some trapped energy from heat and light,
Though possessing neither touch nor sight.
Evolving patters of molecules
Brought to life animalcules.
All these were like children’s stories
Compared to the planet’s future glories.
Still no hint of all the creatures
Yet to emerge with stranger features.
Fish and freak of all forms and shapes,
Plants and trees and worms and apes:
All sorts of life now could arise:
Germs and birds and humans wise.
Nucleic acids held the code,
Slipped and strayed, changed their mode.
By mistakes and unforeseen means
Were mutations made of the genes.
Genetic twists set in motion
Meandering paths of evolution.
As fossil evidence makes one see
All sorts of creatures came to be.
They answered ev’ry chance and change
That occurred in the planet’s range,
In air and water, and on land,
In polar realms and desert sand.
Spurts of Thought 