The Lament of the GEC Experimenter

(Sung to Carrickfergus)

 

By Tom Morgan, Wesleyan University

 

I wish I had, a nice plasma discharge

Containing electrons, and ions too

I would go over, all the details

And the spectroscopy of Rydbergs too

But the signal is weak, and I cannot control it

Neither have I, reduced the noise

If I could find me, a good diagnostic

To move forward, with my toys

 

My childhood days, were with ionization

And happy times, with capture too

My boyhood colleagues, stressed excitation

Saying metastables are never few

But I’ll spend my days, in endless measuring

A wee spectrum here, and a collision peak too

Ah, to be back, with large signals

On the road to something new

 

In Dublin and in Belfast, it is reported

There are new centers, ready to go

With new equipment, and large laboratories

But we must wait to see the show

It will take some time, to find the signals

But don’t despair, they shall be found

The future is bright now, the labs are all tuned

So come all ye young researchers, and make them sound