Hotel Californium

A little 5f electron, waving through the air,
Interacts with a photon, and lets us know that it's there,
Ninety seven of its kindred, shielding the nuclear charge,
Principal quantum number 5, the orbital must be large

Blackbody radiation, photoelectric effect,
Atomic spectra, Franck-Hertz, continuous? We reject,
Energy levels are quantized, Niels Bohr showed us, you see,
Along with Werner Heisenberg, and Louis de Broglie,

Chorus: Welcome to the Hotel Californium,
Such a lovely place, n is 5, l is 3, such a lovely place,
Schrödinger rules in the Hotel Californium,
Any time of year, where I am isn't clear, quantum never fear

Take a particle so gently, box it in over there,
Solution trigonometric, nodes at the walls, it is clear,
Energy becomes quantized, integers must arise,
Zero-point fluctuation, particle always flies,

L determines the shape, m gives direction, you see,
Electron spinning, ms, Aufbau, Hund and Pauli,
Core and valence retained, the work of Dr. Hartree,
Para and diamagnetic, electron affinity

Chorus

Hotel Californium (click to download)