Did you know that there’s an doctor named Electron Kebebew working at the National Cancer Institute?
And that Electron has older siblings named Positron, Neutron, Deutron and Proton?
(Deutron’s name is based on deuteron, which is the nucleus of deuterium, an isotope of hydrogen.)
Electron and his siblings were born in Ethiopia to a father who was an electrical engineer.
I’m not sure what Proton and Neutron are up to these days, but it looks like Positron is also a doctor, and Deutron (who earned an electrical engineering degree) works with foster children.
“When you have a name like Electron, people notice you, and they have expectations of you,” he says. “But by and large, as I think back on my life, my name has been a positive influence.”
A positive influence, despite the negative charge! Ah, science humor. :)
Source: Is There an Electron in the House? A Conversation with Electron Kebebew (found via NOTY comment), Deutron Kebebew, Kresge ’03, 2012 Tony Hill Award
Reminds me of the Egyptian born Canadian film director Atom Egoyan …
What I want to know is which one came first… Did the father order them by mass? Or charge? Or some other nerdy quantifier?
(I suspect he just chose them “randomly”, but if he did arrange them scientifically, so to speak, that would be even more awesome. :))
@Kristy – Haha! :)
@elbowin – Thanks for mentioning Atom — I’d never heard of him before, but it looks like there’s a story behind his name: “His parents were Armenian-Egyptians, and he was named Atom to mark the completion of Egypt’s first nuclear reactor” (Wikipedia).