Proton Memes

The chemical equivalent of ghosting someone. One minute you're an ynol with your hydroxyl group happily attached, then a proton comes along and suddenly you're a ketene with your oxygen on the complete opposite end. Chemistry's version of "it's not you, it's me" followed by completely rearranging your molecular structure. Organic chemists spend years trying to stabilize these relationships only for H + to slide into DMs and ruin everything.

This is peak chemistry humor playing on acid-base chemistry and political ideologies! When the pKa value is greater than the pH (top panel), the acid keeps its proton - hence "MY proton" with the American flag backdrop representing individualism. But when pH exceeds pKa (bottom panel), the acid donates its proton to the solution - suddenly it's "OUR proton" with the Soviet flag and communist symbolism. The molecule shown is acetic acid, which has a pKa around 4.76, meaning it switches between these states depending on the solution's pH. Chemistry nerds unite!

Behold! A chemistry pun that would make Mendeleev giggle in his grave! In chemistry, HOMO stands for "Highest Occupied Molecular Orbital" - but this meme shows just a lonely H+ ion (a proton with no electrons) saying "NO HOMO?" It's hilarious because this poor proton literally has NO electrons, therefore NO "Highest Occupied Molecular Orbital" whatsoever! It's the ultimate chemistry dad joke - a particle that's so electron-deprived it can't even have a HOMO! The proton is basically the chemistry equivalent of showing up to a party with absolutely nothing to contribute except its positive attitude. ⚛️💥

Ever notice how bases are basically proton-hungry stalkers? This meme perfectly captures the chemical desperation of a Brønsted-Lowry base spotting an innocent proton across the solution. In chemistry, Brønsted-Lowry bases are defined by their ability to accept protons (H+ ions), essentially making them proton-receivers. Meanwhile, acids are proton-donors. The meme shows the base creepily eyeing that sweet, sweet proton, ready to snatch it away with all the subtlety of a grad student spotting free food at a department seminar. Thirty years of teaching chemistry and I still chuckle at how we anthropomorphize molecular interactions. As if molecules have desires and motivations beyond their electron configurations. Yet here we are, pretending bases have stalker tendencies.

Chemistry nerds will die on the hill that protons in solution are actually hydronium ions (H₃O⁺), while biologists are just standing there like "whatever dude, pH still works either way." It's that classic academic pedantry where chemists are technically correct (the best kind of correct!) but biologists are too busy dealing with actual living organisms to care about the molecular details. Next time a chemist corrects you about H⁺ versus H₃O⁺, just smile and nod while secretly thinking about how they probably haven't seen sunlight in weeks.