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Obviously Einsteinium has a slight resonance for me because many
people think that I look like Einstein, though of course Einstein, when he
was young, looked nothing like me.
Einsteinium, the first time that was discovered was actually in the debris
of a nuclear bomb, which has then prompted people to make it in a
more rational and less destructive method ever since.
As far as I know that, einsteinium has absolutely nothing to do with
Einstein, it just that people suddenly decided that they would name
elements after famous scientists because they, they had run out of
names of America and places like that.
I seem to remember at GCSE-level, I don’t even think the F elements
are even on the periodic table. I think they are at A-level onwards. But
you don’t really cover them; they’re just this exotic bunch of crazy
elements that do bizarre things, really interesting bizarre things. But you
really don’t come into contact with them for a long time in your career
and it’s only when you get past a certain point say if you’ve already got
a PhD and you’re on doing a post-doc or you’re an actual academic and
you get into research groups who handle these types of elements on a
routine basis.
I still get people in the streets shouting ‘hello Einstein’ at me when they
are suitably drunk.
Why do they do that, what aspect do you think is Einsteinesque?
I’m not sure though I have started the habit of sticking out my tongue at
people but not in the street. I think it’s the funny hair and the glasses,
and the fact that I look like what they think scientists ought to look like.