Metallicity Memes

Posts tagged with Metallicity

The Great Element Simplification

Chemistry Astronomy Physics Universe Science

1 year ago 43.4K views 0 shares

The Great Element Simplification

Behold the magnificent disciplinary divide! While chemists are busy categorizing 118 elements into a fancy periodic table with color-coded families, astrophysicists are like "nah, just throw everything after helium in a bucket labeled 'metals'" and call it a day! 🚀 In stellar classification, astronomers really do lump most elements heavier than helium as "metallicity" because they're too busy contemplating black holes to bother with your fancy electron configurations. It's like going to a five-star restaurant and ordering "food" instead of specifying the dish. Cosmic simplification at its finest!

My Favorite Metal Is Oxygen

Astronomy Chemistry Physics Science

1 year ago 53.8K views 0 shares

My Favorite Metal Is Oxygen

The astronomical audacity of astrophysicists! In stellar classification, they casually lump nearly every element on the periodic table as "metals" - including non-metals like oxygen, carbon, and nitrogen. To an astrophysicist, if it's not hydrogen or helium (the two most abundant elements in the universe), it's just a "metal." Meanwhile, chemists are having collective aneurysms because oxygen is actually a highly reactive non-metal that would corrode actual metals faster than a freshman's confidence during finals week. The cosmic irony of calling oxygen a metal is like calling a fish a land mammal because "it's not a bird."